A Flu Good Rockets
by Neko-chan4
Summary: Our heroes from the "Insanity" series are back, but this time, the mission's a bit different. Jesse, James & Meowth are sick--will Neko & Kio be able to work together in order to help out? Original character WAFF! Please R/R!
1. Part One

February 2-3, 2001

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket (as in Jesse, James, Meowth, Mondo, or their Boss).  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

Author's Note/Rant: Hey, all!  I decided to delve further into my original characters, which were introduced in my "Insanity" series.  However, I wouldn't try to make too many connections between the two—at least, timeline wise—because it may just cause severe head pains.  I wrote this fic sort of AU, so events in this story don't really match up with events from the previous "Insanity" fics, although characters and general plots are the same.  I hope you all enjoy, seeing as how the "main" characters of this fic our Neko, Kiosuke, and Galaxia—I've come to really love those characters and wanted to write more about them, especially Kio, who's character is especially fun to write.  I hope you all enjoy (and please review!)

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART ONE

It was an incredibly nice day outside, a bit chilly due to the fact that it was still the early part of March, but still, quite nice.

Meaning the sun was shining extremely brightly and Neko and Galaxia were trying to avoid it at all costs.

"It's such an oxymoron, ya know," muttered Neko with a somewhat ironic cheer to her voice.  "I mean, the sun is so beautiful—"

"But it's too damn bright!" finished her partner brightly.  The blonde flipped the page of her most recent Smile, humming "Lucky Lucky" under her breath as the two enjoyed the wanted shade of the Team Rocket secret hideout's front porch.

Neko stirred her tea thoughtfully.  "I think I'm probably part vampire, but the results haven't returned from the lab yet."  Smiling wanly to herself, she popped another glazed donut hole in her mouth, watching Gastly playing with it's shadow on the lawn.

"What lab?"

"Aw, never mind…"

The blonde looked up from her comics.  "Do you think Jess 'n James are enjoying the weather?"

Neko rolled her eyes affectionately.  "If they're not chasing that Pikachu, you can bet they're working on their tans."

"But it's March!"  Galaxia shivered involuntarily.

"They're weird."

"Well don't be a hypocrite."

The redhead stuck her tongue out at her.  "So what's new?"

The phone rang insistently from inside the cabin, breaking up any retort Galaxia may have had.  Neither girl made a move to get up, glaring meaningfully at the other.

"Né-chan…"

Neko sniffed derisively.  "I hate phones."

Galaxia got up from her seat reluctantly, giving her partner a dark akanbe and retrieving the phone from it's jack in the kitchen.

"Rocket Hideout.  This is Galaxia speaking."

The voice on the other end was distorted thickly but noticeably happy to hear her voice.

"Hey, G-chan.  It's Jesse."

The blonde smiled but quickly frowned as the other Rocket coughed heavily from the other end.

"You sound terrible, Jess!  You okay?"

The redhead groaned uncomfortably from the other end.  "I am terrible!  And so is James, and so is Meowth…"  She paused momentarily to cough thickly.

"Call Mondo, for me, will you?"

"Sure," answered Galaxia in concern, her brow furrowed curiously.

"But Jess, why didn't you call him yourself?"

There was a weak pause from the other end.

"I forgot his number…"

*           *           *

"Sick?"  The young Rocket gopher furrowed his eyebrows worriedly.

Galaxia nodded, fixing her sunglasses absentmindedly.  Beside her Chan-saw fiddled nervously with her chainsaw, watching the two Rockets with worry-filled eyes.

"I guess so.  Neko and I had nothing better to do, so we're gonna' go check them out with you."

Mondo looked apprehensive.  "Don't you both have an assignment or something?"

"Nope."  The redhead walked out from the headquarters' break room, fresh cup of coffee in hand and a pair of black sunglasses with yellow lenses on her head.  She sipped the coffee gingerly, making a slight face at the weakness of the brew, then came to join the Chansey and her partner.

The young Rocket aid smiled brightly from the vid-phone's screen.  "Great!  I don't think the Boss will mind then, you guys!"

There was a moments pause and then Neko sighed irritably.

"We need a ride."

Mondo looked distressed.  "But I'm way out by Route 3!"

Galaxia noticed the dangerous twitch in Neko's eyebrow.

"I could drive!" she interceded quickly.

Neko looked at her dryly.  "In what car?"

Behind them Chan-saw chirped urgently, waving her arms in excitement.

"This isn't _Gone In 60-Seconds," replied Neko smartly.  Chan-saw pouted darkly._

"Besides," continued Galaxia, beginning to look distressed as the familiar whine began to seep into her voice.  "We don't have that kind of time."

Mondo was near panic-stricken, as he often was by trivial matters.  "I just can't pick you guys up!  It's out of my way and it would take me another hour to reach Jesse and James-senpai!"

Neko downed her coffee moodily, sharing a glance with her partner.  Suddenly a sly smile crept across Galaxia's seemingly innocent features.  Neko shook her head violently.

"Uh, uh!" she growled.  "No way!  Never!"

Galaxia giggled evilly, turning back to the vid-phone with a cheery grin.

"Alright, Mondo!  We'll meet up with you outside Route 22!"

With a click, the vid-screen fizzed out and the blonde straightened up from her slightly hunched position, giving her partner a cheeky grin.

Neko growled.  "I can't believe you're really going to ask him."

"Of course I am!"  Galaxia winked, strutting down the hallway with a silly skipping step.

"Besides, who knows?  Maybe you'll actually get along today!"

The redhead stomped her foot in frustration, flicking her sunglasses over her eyes with an angry flick of her wrist.  "Over my dead body!"

Even so, she followed her friend with a businesslike stride, Chan-saw close behind.

*           *           *

Swiping a hand across the sweat on his brow, Kiosuke Akogare straightened up from his warm-up, fixing the two girls with a serious expression wearied from his work-out.

"You want a ride?  Out there?"

Neko fixed him with a peeved look, slightly disconcerted by his apparent cooperation.

"Look, it'd be a really big favor."

Galaxia cleared her throat loudly.  Neko rolled her eyes.

"_Please…"_

The familiar sly grin wormed it's way out of the unusually calm expression.

"Ooh, is someone desperate?  For _my help?"  He narrowed his gold eyes challengingly, lowering his face to level with the redhead bravely._

Neko ground her teeth furiously but held her tongue.  "Come on, Kio.  I really don't need any of your shit right now."

The golden-eyed karate buff pulled away, pouting animatedly.  "Aw, no snappy comebacks?"  He picked up his towel from the mats absent-mindedly, ruffling it once through his dark hair and heading back towards the locker rooms.

"Gee, you really must be desperate."

The young Rocket made as if to reply tartly but her partner cut in abruptly, using her natural charm and clinging onto the older boy's arm sweetly.

"Please, Kio-chan?  I'm sure it won't hurt Né-chan to be nice for just one day!"

Kio chuckled slightly in embarrassment, rubbing his head nervously.  "Well…I was kind of busy today, Galaxia…"

Neko looked insulted.  "Hey, I'm nice!  Just not to him!"

Kio stuck his tongue out at her teasingly.  "Aw, you know you want me!"

The redhead's nose wrinkled distastefully.  "Eew, don't make me dry-heave, you incompetent cad…"

"Ooh, I love it when you use big words like that, Kitty-chan…"

"Kio, shut up!"

Galaxia ignored the usual banter, jumping up and down excitedly.  "Does this mean you'll give us a ride?!"

Kio shrugged nonchalantly, ignoring the cold glare Neko gave him.  "Sure."  He laughed evilly, waving a set of shiny new car keys in front of Neko's eyes.

"Then I can show off my shiny new sports car to little Miss Doesn't-Have-Her-License!"

Neko turned her nose away hotly.  "Big deal.  Maybe I believe in cutting down on pollution."

Kio snorted loudly, trying to control his laughter.  "Right!  Sure!"

The 17-year-old huffed hotly, stalking proudly past him.  "Just hurry up and change, Hot-Rod."

"Ooh, are you going to talk dirty like that for the whole ride?"

Galaxia giggled impishly, giving Kio a rough shove in warning and hurried after Neko.

"Chan!  Chansey, chan!" cried Chan-saw in objection, dropping the numchucks she had been playing with and hurrying after the two girls.

*           *           *

Neko scowled angrily out the window.  "Why did I have to get shotgun?"

"But Neko, you always want shotgun," quipped Galaxia helpfully from the back seat, looking up from her game of Street Sign Bingo.

"Sey!" crowed Chan-saw brightly, checking off "Railroad Crossing" when Galaxia wasn't watching.

Kio rolled his eyes in a similar expression of annoyance.  "Look, I'm not exactly thrilled either, so let's just say we're even."

"Ooh, who's lost their sense of humor now, Mr. Quick-lips?"

"Lost it?  Who says I lost my sense of humor?  And by the way, you wish you knew how quick my lips are."

"Oh, oh, that's what I dream of at night!  When I'm sleeping completely naked with your poster on my ceiling!"

"Gross, Neko.  You should really put clothes on at night.  It's still March, you know."

Galaxia quickly checked off "Yield for School Children" and gave her comrades a semi-stern glare.  "No flirting in the front seat!  You're distracting the driver!"

Neko spun around in her seat.  "What flirting?!  He's insulting my body and he's never even seen it!"

"Well she's defiling my poster image!" shouted back Kio.  "I didn't even know they made posters of me…"

The blonde didn't even look up from her game.  "Just turn down the hormones and concentrate on driving, lover boy."

Kio gasped.  "No, she's learned of my lust for my precious car!  Curses!"

Neko slouched moodily back into the well-cushioned seat.  "You can hump the gas tank at the next gas station."

The young man sighed dramatically, hugging the steering wheel possessively.  "Oh, the wait is endless!"

They drove in silence for about two minutes, and then Kio began humming "Pop Goes the Weasel".

"For Christ's sake, Kio, grow up."

The 19-year-old seemed to ignore her.  Throwing back his head, he began to belt out the children's tune at the top of his lungs, as off-key as possible.

_"ALL AROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH, THE MON-KEY CHASED THE WEA-SEL!  THE MONKEY THOUGHT TWAS ALL IN FUN—"_

_"CHAN, CHANSEY-CHAN!"_

"Chan-saw, don't encourage him!!"

Chan-saw shrunk back guiltily and Kio grinned and started into "When the Saints Go Marching In".

"Maybe we should put in some real music!" piped up Galaxia hurriedly, diving for the CD case in the front seat.

Kio glanced over his shoulder.  "Put in the unmarked one in the back."

Galaxia did so, Kio pressing the skip button several times, and the familiar opening beat of "Bad Touch" filled the car.

Neko turned to the dark-haired cadet sharply.  "You like the Bloodhound Gang?"

Kio nodded, an odd look on his usually cocky face.  "Yeah.  You ever heard their CD?"

Neko's face was suddenly excited.  "I _love the Bloodhound Gang!  We have to play number six!"_

The young man's gold-eyes shown brightly.  "Oh, you mean the one with Pac-Man in the middle of the song?  That song kicks ass!"

"Oh, and what about that one about "If I were God"?  That's hilarious!" said Neko with a mischievous laugh.

Kio snorted back a laugh.  _"Crucified and all I got—_

_"…Was this lousy T-shirt!"_

Galaxia simply blinked dully from the back seat, while Chan-saw cheerily checked off all of the construction signs they had just plowed through on her game board.

"I can't believe they're getting along…"

"SEEEY!!" screamed Chan-saw hysterically, pointing a stubby pink arm in the direction of the cement truck they were about to plow into.

*           *           *

Neko pursed her lips dryly, pulling her yellow-lens sunglasses down over her stormy blue eyes.

"Yep.  You're a moron, Kio."

Kio slumped heavily, a dejected whimper escaping his lips as he watched them tow the wreck of his car away.  The former red sports car now resembled a giant red accordion.

No one bothered to wonder why none of them was even harmed.

"My…car…!!"

Neko glanced at Kio expressionlessly.  "Yes.  That was your car, Kio.  Then it hit a cement truck.  Now we're stranded."

Kio glared at her darkly.  "Well you distracted me!" he pouted childishly.

Galaxia watched the wreck being towed with a blank expression.  "Um, now what are we gonna' do, guys?"

"Chaaaan, seeeeeeyy!!" wailed Chan-saw loudly.  Kio looked at her guiltily.

"It's okay, Chan-saw!" he crooned gently, patting the pink Pokémon's head soothingly.  "I'll buy you a new chainsaw!"

The Pokémon's lip quivered threateningly, black eyes filling with tears.

"CHAAAAANNNNN!!!!"

Neko glared at Kio angrily, hands on hips.  "Now look what you did, dumbbell!  Haven't you messed up enough already?!"

"Look, you owe me a new car so I wouldn't talk!  This isn't all my fault you know!"

"Oh yeah?  And how exactly is it mine?!"

Galaxia quickly dove between the two before anything could get ugly.  "How about we worry about how to get out of here instead of who's fault it is?!"

"Sey…" sniffed Chan-saw in agreement, tugging at Kio's pant leg imploringly.

The young man looked down at Chan-saw in embarrassment.

"Sorry…"

Galaxia glared at Neko meaningfully.  The redhead threw up her hands in defeat.

"Fine!  I'm sorry, too!"

They all stood in silence for awhile, either brooding or mourning over destroyed property.

"This is boring!  Where are the truckers?"  Galaxia craned her neck in both directions.

"Show some leg, G-chan.  Maybe then some truckers will show up."

The blonde rolled her eyes.  "I am not doing that."

Neko shrugged.  "Well you were the one who complained."

Kio grinned slyly, elbowing the redhead teasingly.  "Why don't you show some leg, Kitty?"

"Stuff it, Kio."

"Aw, come on!  Show those horny truckers your sexy legs, kitten!"

Neko grabbed his collar roughly, pulling him level with her fiercely glaring eyes.  "If you want leg, use your own, jerk."

Kio cocked his head innocently.  "What, you didn't shave?"

"Kio has a point, though, Né-chan," interrupted Galaxia seriously.  "How are we going to get a ride?"

"Stick out your thumb."

Kio studied Chan-saw thoughtfully.  "Hey, how about we use Chan-saw to get attention?"

Neko snorted derisively.  "Oh, so now you want Chan-saw to show some leg?"

Chan-saw peered down over her ample belly with a curious expression in an attempt to spot her legs, but to no avail.

Kio rolled his eyes dramatically.  "No, I'm serious.  Jeez, at least I _have ideas."_

"Ooh, so sorry, oh genius one!"

"Why don't you lay off it for once, Neko!"

"Lay off it?!  Oh, you're mature, Kio!"

Galaxia stomped her foot angrily.  "WHY DON'T YOU BOTH SHUT UP?!!"

Both looked at her in surprise.

"What's up your skirt?" remarked Neko sardonically.

Galaxia huffed angrily.  "I'm sick and tired of you two fighting non-stop!  If we're going to get out of this mess, we've got to work together!"

"Sey!" replied Chan-saw sternly.

Kio crossed his arms sourly.  "That's great, Galaxia, but it still doesn't give us a car or supplies."

"Or a truck driver," grumbled Neko.

"I don't care!" snapped the blonde testily, stomping off in the direction they had been headed.  "We're going to walk then!"

"Walk…?!"

"Get a move on!"

Neko glared at Kio for the millionth time.  "This is all your fault!"

"What?!  I didn't make her bitchy!"  His face was now level with hers.  "You're the one rubbing off on her!"

"Oh quit arguing back there, I've always been like this!  Now march!"

"Ohhhh…!"

Chan-saw skipped happily behind them.  "Sey!  Chansey, chan!"

*           *           *

Jesse looked down at the questionable contents of the mug in front of her, an even fouler expression setting into her features than had been there before.

"Mondo, what is this stuff?"

The young trainee beamed hopefully, eager to please.  "It's this new flu and cold medicated herbal stew they've been working on in the lab."

Jesse scrunched her nose up distastefully.  "Are you sure they didn't mix it up with some biochemical explosive ooze?"

"It smells like gym socks!" whined James groggily.  He sneezed loudly, pulling his blanket around his shoulders tighter.

Meowth, however, purred happily.  "Yum, tastes good!"

Mondo beamed happily, bowing ecstatically.  "Master Meowth, you approve?!"

The cat nodded happily.  "Meowph's nose iph stuffed.  Everyphing tastes yike chalk dust."

James whimpered sourly.  "Lucky duck…!"

"Where are Neko and Galaxia?  There's something really important I needed them for."  Jesse pushed her stew away in disgust.

"Yeah.  Neko will probably bring donuts!"

"Yuck!  Meowph don't want donuts dat taste like chalk dust."

The young trainee looked crestfallen.  "I am sorry, senpai-san, but all I know is that they were supposed to meet me right outside Route 22."

The team exchanged a collective moan and then a mixed chorus of coughs and sneezes.

Mondo squirmed uncomfortably.  "Was the stew really that bad, senpai-san…?"

"YES!!"

"Oh…Next time I'll be sure to check the labels."

James' green eyes were round as emeralds.  "WHAT?!!"

Mondo grinned sneakily.  "I was just being humorous, James-senpai."

James coughed weakly, glaring dully at the younger Rocket.  "Never humor sick people."

"Meowph not sick!  Watch me do a cartwheel!"

"Hey Meowth, you're only supposed to take one of these painkiller thingies," pointed out Jesse, studying the label on the painkillers.

"On'y one?  Whoops."

"Meowth, quit bouncing, you're making me seasick!" wailed James.

*           *           *

Galaxia checked her watch.  "It's almost seven."

Neko flopped down on the park bench beside her in exhaustion.  "Urggh…Everything aches…"

"Maybe this whole thing wasn't such a great idea after all."

"Look on the bright side," yawned Neko tiredly.  "At least we got a good workout."

Galaxia looked slightly surprised.  "You're optimistic all of a sudden."

Neko smirked dryly.  "That's because Dumbo here fell asleep."  She jerked a thumb in Kio's direction.  The young man was sound asleep, sprawled across the bench in exhaustion.

The blonde simply sighed hopelessly.  Chan-saw murmured something indecipherable in her sleep where she was propped up against Kio, her empty hands moving in vain attempts to rev an imagined chainsaw.

"Why can't you just get along with Kio?  Chan-saw and I don't have a problem with him."

Neko rolled her eyes dramatically.  "That's because he's a pushover for cute Pokémon.  And cute blondes."

Galaxia pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "I think he has a thing for redheads, too, you know."

Her partner looked at her sharply, the street lamp oddly shadowing her features.  Then she turned away, a pensive expression on her darkened face.

"We should try and find the others," she replied finally in a stiff tone, climbing to her feet wearily and stretching.

Her friend nodded noncommittally, not saying anything.

"Come on.  We're already late enough."

She didn't bother to wait, just wordlessly walked into the shade of the night, dark jacket fluttering behind her in her passing.

Galaxia made another hopeless sigh, slightly irritated with her friend's stubbornness.  Then she gently shook the others awake.

"Neko's already gone to find the team.  We'd better hurry if we want to catch up."

Kio sighed in irritation, running a hand through his messy hair.  "She's just always gotta' have her way, doesn't she?"  He helped Chan-saw to her feet and stretched sorely.

"Okay, let's go find that stubborn kitty."

Galaxia rolled her eyes affectionately.  "Look who's talking, mister."

"Chan…"  The pink Pokémon curled back up on the bench sourly and tried to go back to sleep.  Galaxia pushed her off sourly, ignoring Chan-saw's cry of surprise.

"I never knew I was a cat!" cried Kio, looking mock amazed.  "No wonder I keep coughing up hairballs."

"Can it, Tiger, we—"

"Theeeey're GREAT!"

"Kio!"

The cadet pouted sourly.  "Aw, you're not gonna' get all bitchy on me too, are you?"

Galaxia was giggling, however.

"'Sometimes being a bitch is all I have to hold on to.'"

"That's quite wise."

"I thought it was."  Her hazel eyes widened suddenly.  "Oh shit!  Neko!"  She hurried off in the direction Neko had gone.

"Come on, Chan-saw, girl," yawned Kio, following the blonde hurriedly.

The Pokémon pouted darkly but followed, grumbling sourly.

"There's some girls that need protecting!"

"Chan."

"I meant Neko and Galaxia…"

"Sey!"

Kio grumbled.  "Fine, you count too."

*           *           *

Jesse snuggled down in her sleeping bag gratefully, smiling slightly to herself for the first time that day.  The painkillers had finally begun to kick in.  She was sure she'd finally be able to get some sleep now.

There was a weak whimpering groan from across the fire and she opened her blue eyes half-mast.  James was tossing and turning feverishly on his bedroll, a thick sheen of sweat on his brow clearly visible in the fire's glow.

"Master Meowth, where are all the painkillers?!"  Mondo's voice was tinged with panic, shuffling wildly through his pack of supplies from somewhere behind her.

Meowth could be heard humming strangely off near the bushes.

"No more bad painkillers.  Make Meowph's bwain hurt!"

Jesse gritted her teeth angrily, controlling the urge to scream at the cat in rage.  She could see James' troubled and pain-clenched features from across the fire, lips moving silently in fever-induced sleep.

Mondo cried out in horror.  "No!  Master Meowth that was the last bottle!!"

"Good, no more singin' trolls and tree dragons."

Jesse could feel her eyebrow twitch dangerously.  "You imbecile!  Now what is James suppose to do?!  His fever's out of control!"  She coughed violently, climbing hastily out of her bedroll and going to James' side in concern.

"Jesse-senpai, please, you're sick!  You must rest!"

Jesse glared at Mondo sternly, soaking a washcloth for James' head in her shaky fingers.  "I'm fine!  Let's just worry about James right now!"  Mondo hurried to help her.

The thief's green eyes fluttered open weakly, glazed in pain, face flushed with fever.

"Jesse…"

The redhead took his hand comfortingly, her own blue eyes contorted with concern.  "Yes, James?  Is there anything I can do?"

He coughed weakly, breathing with difficulty.  Finally he fixed her with a dark expression.  "Kill Meowth for me, will you?"

Jesse grinned evilly.  "Sure, James.  I'll see to it."

He nodded, no longer able to keep his eyes open against his exhaustion.

"James okay?"  Meowth peered over Jesse's shoulder guiltily.

"Sure.  He told me to give you something."  She promptly gave him a good sock to the face.

"Ow!"

Jesse pulled herself to her feet solemnly.  "Excuse me, Mondo-chan."  Throwing her largest mallet over one shoulder, she dragged the cat away by the tail to administer a thorough beating.

Mondo looked uneasy.  "Um, Miss Jesse…Shouldn't you…"  He shrugged hopelessly and turned back to his remaining patient, blocking out the sounds of war coming from the darkened bushes.

"Mondo-kun, I'm hungry…!"

"All I have is that herbal stew, James-senpai."

"Oh."

There was silence for a moment, backed by the sound of Meowth's screaming in the trees.

"You know, I think I might have some Tootsie Rolls in my backpack."

"Okay!  I'll eat those!"

*           *           *

Neko could tell she was lost.  The trees were closing in like stiff, dark sentinels, closing off the slim horizon of violet-blue sky visible above the dark plumage.  She shivered involuntarily, shaking off the eerie feeling of many eyes watching her from the trees as she slipped a Pokéball from the inside of her jacket.

"Okay, Gastly!  Come out!"

The ghost Pokémon appeared with a comical grin, studying its master patiently for its orders.

The redhead looked around uneasily, then back at her Pokémon with a thoughtful expression.  "Okay, I need some sort of light.  Do you think you can help me, Gastly-chan?"

"Gaaas-tly!"  The smoky form swirled hastily in on itself, reappearing as a warmly lit Chinese lantern, floating lazily in the air before her.

Neko smiled benevolently at the playful Pokémon, obviously satisfied.  "Perfect, Gastly!  Good work!"

A pair of hazy eyes blinked happily at her from the lantern's face, then closed and slowly faded.

Neko squared her shoulders bravely, looking thoughtful at which direction to take.

"Gas?"

She shook her head guiltily.  "Come on, Gastly.  Let's go find the others," she said, turning back the way she had come.

The red lantern floated ahead obediently, leaving a trail of rosy light in it's wake.

*           *           *

Kio furrowed his eyebrows darkly, staring into the darkness just outside the light thrown from the torch in his hands.  "Jeez, that dummy's gone and gotten us all lost in this stupid forest!"  He ran a hand through his hair absently, a sure sign that he was concerned.

Galaxia looked troubled in the light of the torch.  "Oh God, I hope she's alright…"

Chan-saw murmured worriedly in agreement, scooting closer to Kio for protection.

The young man growled, trying to appear angry.  "Why wouldn't she be?  She's got all of our supplies!"  Galaxia noticed his fist clenching restlessly at his side, his gold-eyes searching the dark forest like a restless hawk.  The light of the torch threw his oddly-colored eyes into strange reflections of gold, blue and green as he bit his lip with ill-concealed worry.

"I'm sure she didn't mean to run off.  I think she was just eager to catch up with Mondo and the team."  The blonde hoped he didn't notice the guilty edge in her stance.

Kio was too preoccupied to notice.  "Running off without the rest of is doesn't help anyone.  She doesn't even know where she's going!"

"She's got Gastly and Raichu.  I'm sure they'll be able to help her."

Chan-saw looked skeptical.

"We should have just waited until morning.  I don't know why I'm even bothering to look for her—it's her own damn fault she's lost!"

Galaxia bit her lip, trying to hide her smile.  "Come on, Kio.  I'm sure we're getting close!"

Kio trudged behind her gamely, still stubbornly trying to mask the fact that he was sick with worry under a façade of irritation.  "As soon as we find her, I'm going to chew her out so bad…!"

"Let's just find her first and then we'll worry about that!"

"Seeey!"  Chan-saw hurried to catch-up, skittish of the dark that had surrounded her in their wake.

*           *           *

Neko estimated it had been several hours now, and so far she hadn't even run into a trace of her friends.  The light was beginning to wane heavily in Gastly's lantern and her feet and eyes ached with fatigue.

"Alright, Gastly-chan, you can take a rest, now."

The light faded entirely, forming the insubstantial form of the ghost Pokémon once again.  It circled its master slowly in concern, worn out from staying in an illusion for such an extended period of time.

"It's alright, Gastly.  I'm just tired."  The redhead raised the Pokémon's ball wearily.  "Return!"

"Gaass…"

The red beam swallowed the Pokémon up, retreating back into the safety of the tiny smooth orb in the cadet's hand.

Neko sighed wearily.  The snapping of a twig nearby caused her to jump nervously, and her blue eyes strained vainly to penetrate the murky depths of her surroundings.

"Why did I have to be so impulsive?"

A soft Pokémon cry answered her from somewhere far off.  Now completely alone, she allowed herself a fearful whimper, drawing her thin jacket tighter to herself.

"Face it, Neko.  You're really just a big wuss and you know it," she muttered to herself gloomily, unable to shake the disconcerting feeling of being watched once again.

"Nidooooo…"

The unmistakable growl froze her cold.  Looking hastily in the direction of the sound, she could just make out the sharp outline of a rather large Nidorino just a few feet away, hard spines pointed dangerously in her direction.

Her breath caught heavily in her throat.  "Nice Pokémon…"

Ignoring her pleading command, the disturbed animal stumbled forward on its short clawed feet, head lowered in attack.

Neko did the only thing she could think of.  She screamed.

*           *           *

Galaxia gasped in horror, freezing momentarily.

"Né-chan!"

A shadow crossed Kio's features.  "Come on!" he commanded sternly, hurrying in the direction of the scream.

Chan-saw and Galaxia were hard on his heels.

*           *           *

The redhead threw herself off to the side, stumbling across the hard dirt in the dark as she landed hard on her arm.  The angry Nidorino spun in the dirt, losing its footing in surprise as it righted itself for another lunge.

"Raichu, go!" screamed the Rocket cadet hurriedly, throwing the red and white ball into the air.

The brown electric rat appeared in a flash of crimson light, its feet firmly set as it faced off the other Pokémon gamely.

"Raaaii!"  It waved it's scar-tattered tail threateningly, bracing itself for impact as the Nidorino rammed into it full force.

"Thunder, Raichu!" commanded Neko shakily.  Raichu crowed gamely in understanding, its cheeks beginning to spark with built-up electricity.  Leaping at its opponent, it let loose with a violent wave of electric power.

"Nidoooo!!" roared the poison Pokémon in pain, crumbling to its feet weakly.

"Rai!"  Raichu appeared to laugh at the other Pokémon's misfortune.  Turning its tail derisively, it bounded loyally over to its master, a look of concern on its usually cocky face.

Neko pulled herself to her feet shakily.  "I'm alright, Raichu.  Let's get out of here before—"

Without warning, two other Pokémon appeared from the nearby brush, charging at the two in rage.

"Raa!" roared the larger of the two, presumably a Nidorina, judging by its silhouette in the still dark woods.  The other appeared to be its offspring, a young Nidoran.  It's sex was undecipherable in the lack of light.

Neko cried out in surprise, grabbing her Raichu hastily by the tail and scrabbling out of the two raging animals' way.

The stubborn Pokémon pulled out of her grasp hastily, bravely facing the Nidorina and Nidoran.

"Rai!  Raichu!" it growled threateningly, cheeks sparking.  It rushed at the two in a blinding display of Agility; weaving in and out between the two to deliver quick precise blows with its heavy paws.

The Nidorina shook off her daze, glaring at Raichu in fury.  "Nido!  Nido, nidorina!"  It's offspring nodded understandingly, joining her, and the two of them attacked the electric Pokémon in a Double-team of Horn drills.

Neko watched in horror, Raichu's angry cries of pain mixing with the vicious war cries of the marauding Nidoran Pokémon.

"Raichu!" she screamed, struggling vainly to call back her battered Pokémon.  The red beam couldn't penetrate the two spiny bodies that held Raichu to the ground, however, and Raichu's screams soon dissolved in a gurgle of blood.

"Nido…"  The Nidorino that had fallen over under Raichu's earlier attack struggled weakly to its feet, as its mate and offspring turned from the massacred Pokémon, huffing with exertion.  With cold, expressionless eyes, the three violent Pokémon turned to the human.

"Nidorino!"

Before they could lunge at her, there was a bright flash of red light before the startled Rocket cadet's eyes and a large, insect-like Pokémon appeared.

"Scyther, Swords Dance, now!"

"Scyyy-thah!" hissed the Pokémon threateningly, brandishing its razor-like arms.  It began to spin slowly, picking up momentum as it went.

The Nidorino barked out a harsh order to its family and the three lunged at the whirling Pokémon.  Immediately, they were befallen with a rain of vicious slashing claws.

It wasn't long before the three Pokémon were turning tail in terror before the bladed nightmare.

"Scyytherrr…!"

Neko hurried to her wounded Pokémon's side, bravely biting back tears as she huddled over the beaten creature.  She called the Pokémon back to its ball stiffly, unable to turn and face her friends who had hurried in from the trees at Scyther's victory.

Kio nodded grimly at his Pokémon.  "Good work, Scyther.  Return!"  The large insect disappeared in a beam of red haze.

Galaxia rushed to her friend's side.  "Neko-chan!"  She hugged the other girl tightly.  "Are you alright?"

Neko hugged her back gratefully.  "Yeah…yeah, I'm fine, G-chan," she murmured dully, heart sinking as she squeezed Raichu's ball tightly in her fist.

She heard footsteps behind her as Galaxia pulled out of her thankful embrace, gazing over Neko's shoulder in concern.

"Neko…"  Kio sighed in frustration.  "What were you—"

The redhead whirled around hastily.  Her eyes were brimming with unhappy tears, her face sunken with guilt and regret.

"I'm sorry."  She bit her lip furiously, face contorting in frustration as she desperately fought for control of her tears.  "I'm sorry!"

Galaxia approached her gently.  "Neko…"

The redheaded cadet hung her head, hiding her eyes from the two in shame.  "Look, I'm sorry I ran off without you.  I got us lost and now…now Raichu is hurt and it's all my fault!"  She sighed bitterly.  "I just wanted to find Jess 'n James…"

The others were silent momentarily as Chan-saw crooned sadly to herself, eyes tearing at mention of Raichu.  Neko fingered Raichu's ball, sobbing softly under her breath.

Kio sighed in indecision, studying the dirt with a pensive expression.  Finally he ran a hand through his hair in seeming defeat.

"Galaxia, hold this," he muttered, handing her the torch.  He held his hand out to Neko, his expression kind.

"Here, Neko, let me take a look at your Raichu."

The girl looked up from her hands silently, her tears glittering strangely in the torch's light.  She fingered the ball gingerly, unsure whether to trust him.  His gold eyes were devoid of guile though, as he gazed down at her, unblinking.  Carefully, she wielded the Pokéball to him.

He smiled, taking the Pokéball and patting her shoulder comfortingly with his free hand.  "Come on.  Let's get some rest and we can look for the others in the morning."

Oddly enough, Neko smiled back.

"I am kind of tired."

"No kidding!" laughed Kio.

Smiling secretively to herself, Galaxia called out her Flareon, and together, the three humans and two Pokémon gathered some wood and set up camp.

TO BE CONTINUED…

* * * * * *

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	2. Part Two

February 3-4, 2001

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket (as in Jesse, James, Meowth, Mondo, or their Boss).  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

Author's Notes: Ooh, something's beginning to develop!  The shock!  The mystical, sparkliness…!

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART TWO

The young cadet's eyes slowly struggled open.  She had drifted off apparently, without even realizing it.  Staring into the dim firelight, she waited for her senses to return, still hazy with sleep.

"You dozed off.  You looked so exhausted, I didn't bother to wake you."  The young man smiled in good humor.  He had positioned himself against a tree, legs stretched out next to the wounded Raichu the two of them had been keeping watch over before Neko had dozed off in exhaustion.

Neko nodded groggily, pulling herself back to a sitting position; shivering involuntarily as she unwound from her curled up position.

"I'm sorry."  She pushed the loose strands of hair away from the side of her face, studying Raichu with a worried expression.  "How is it?"

Kio sighed heavily.  "Same.  I can't seem to get its fever down."  He fixed the cold washcloth from the Pokémon's forehead.  "The bleeding seems to have stopped for now, though."

"Gaaastly…"  The mischievous Pokémon coalesced slowly in the air above the injured Raichu, drooping sadly.  Apparently it had fallen asleep as well; ghost Pokémon often become completely invisible when sleeping.

Neko made a patting motion in the air over Gastly's head.  "It's alright, Gastly-chan.  I'm sure it will be okay."

Kio watched her silently, an unreadable expression on his face.

"You really love your Pokémon, don't you?" he said finally, watching Gastly wind lazy smoke trails around the young woman's arm in a show of affection.

Neko looked contemplative, but nodded shortly.

"You know, it's funny, but I've never been big on this whole Pokémon thing."  She looked up, heavy seriousness in her blue eyes.  "Catching and training, that is.  It's different being a Rocket member, because you hand in all the Pokémon to your Boss."

The redhead leaned back on her arms, peering up at a lone star that had peeped through the heavy cover of foliage obstructing the sky's view.  "I could never be a trainer."

The young man nodded curiously, watching her; an odd expression on his face.  "But you really care about Gastly and Raichu.  Why is that?"

A strange smile crossed her lips.  "I didn't steal Gastly or Raichu.  I'm sure I never told you that."  She looked at him once again, and he met her gaze evenly.  "They were abandoned.  So I just kind of…befriended them.  I just can't think of them as Pokémon after that, you know?  That's how it's different."

The other Rocket made to answer but stopped.  The Gastly was watching him curiously, hovering just out of range.  It disappeared shortly, only to reappear behind him, an awed expression on it's ghostly face.

"What's it doing?"

Neko looked lost.  "I don't know."  Gastly turned at the sound of her voice, grinning suddenly and hurrying to her side again.  Both Rockets shrugged in confusion at it's behavior.

"I really don't know what that was about," commented Neko strangely.  Kio laughed lightly, turning his head up to gaze up the star she had been watching earlier.

"It's just being weird like you."

The redhead made a noise of annoyance, but didn't comment.  Her response seemed to remind him of something, however, and his eyebrows furrowed pensively.

"Why do you always have to be so cold?"

Neko looked surprised.

Kio lowered his gaze once again, this time a slightly accusing tone to his glance.  "Come on, Neko.  Are you really that un-caring?  I know you're not."

The girl stiffened angrily.  "I'm just a heartless bitch.  Is that right, Kio?  Why should I give you any special treatment?"

He returned her icy look.  "I never asked for special treatment.  I just wanted to know why the only Neko I ever see is a stubborn, sarcastic bitch.  Everyone else who knows you tells me you're normally talkative and friendly, or dramatic, artistic and silly.  But all I see is this wall of sarcasm and insult, and I'm not even sure I know who the real Neko is."

The redhead was silent.  She tore her eyes away from him guiltily, refusing to meet them.

"Maybe it's because I don't even know who the real Neko is."

He continued to glare at her, but inwardly he felt like a heel.

"Gastly," crowed Neko's Pokémon suddenly, trying to break the tense mood.  Neko sighed, gathering the smoky Pokémon up in her arms and moving to the other side of the camp.

"Good night, Kio."  Her voice was cold, leaving no room for further discussion.

Kio crossed his arms stubbornly, leaning back against the tree.  "Yeah, goodnight, Neko.  You owe me for all this, you know."

"I know."

On the other side of the fire, Neko shivered slightly, pulling her jacket closer for warmth.

"Gastly."  The Pokémon brushed the young woman lightly with its smoky form, just below her collarbone.  Just about the place where her heart would have been.

Neko smiled strangely, a strange feeling coming over her.  "Mmm, that's nice, Gastly?  What is it?"

Gastly didn't answer her.  The cadet sighed dreamily, drifting off once again into sleep.

*           *           *

"I—AM—HUNGRY!!"

Jesse sneezed, then glared glumly at her partner, who was apparently feeling better.  "I think we've figured that out by now, James."

"James-senpai, I already gave you all the Tootsie Rolls in my pack!"

"I need something more substantial!" moaned the thief pathetically, eyeing Meowth strangely.

"Don't look at Meowth like dat!"

James bared his teeth.  "Come here, cat!" he growled, diving at the Pokémon.  There was an insane look in his eyes.

"AAAGGGH!!  MEOWTH!!"

Jesse sighed hopelessly.  "James, leave Meowth alone."

Mondo shrugged.  "Besides, he'd be stringy!"

"Yeah!  Really stringy!"

"I'm not picky!" replied James, grabbing hold of the cat's hind legs.

The Pokémon growled threateningly.  "Well I'm also really tough!"  He gave the young man a good swipe to the face, leaping nimbly out of his grasp as he howled in pain.

"Meowth, leave James alone," countered Jesse calmly.

"If I had known you all wouldn't like the herbal stew, I would have brought some real food with me."

"A painful oversight," commented Jesse with a sigh.

James shook his fists in the air angrily.  "Curse you, painful oversight!"

"Meowth will catch a bird!"

Jesse sniffed derisively.  "I'd like to see you try!"

James was hopeful, however.  "Ooh, a big bird, Meowth!  Find us a Pidgeot!"

"Dis is a hunting trip, not a suicide mission, lamebrain!"

James looked unimpressed.  "Your aspirations are much too low."

"I'm sure Miss Neko and Miss Galaxia will be here soon with provisions," pointed out Mondo hastily, not liking where this was going.

"What if they don't?!" wailed James.  "I can't wait that long!"

Meowth was lazily tying strands of grass together.  "Dey probably died or sompin'…"

"That's horrible, Master Meowth!"

James looked thoughtful.  "I hope we're invited to their funeral.  I bet there would be free food there."

Jesse rolled her eyes.  "I think you two need to go back to sleep.  You're feverish again."

"Should I administer emergency sedative, Miss Jesse?"

"No, no, put my mallet away, Mondo.  Maybe later."

Just as James was about to set into another string of wailing and complaining, Neko, Galaxia, Kio and Chan-saw crashed through the nearby brush in a loud mixture of bickering and whining.

"I told you it was this way!  Maybe if you had listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have run into that swarm of angry carpenter ants!"

"Hey, I said it was this way!  You're the one that went the wrong way!"

"Oh, don't try to place the blame, Kio!  You insisted we go that way!"

"I did not!  You weren't paying attention to where you were going because you were too busy chewing me out about something else that was also your fault!"

"Both of you shut up already!  I'm going to scream!"

"Seeeey!  Chansey, sey, chan!"

Team Rocket and Mondo looked up in surprise and joy.

"Neko-chan!" cried James happily.  "Did you bring me food?"

Neko looked up from her argument, smiling brightly as she spotted James.  "Jamesie-chan!  We made it!"

The two hugged each other gratefully, weeping pathetically into each other's shoulders.

Kio looked on disturbingly.  "This is a side of Neko I'm not sure I wanted to see…"

"Jess-chan!" cried Galaxia cheerfully, the volume of her greeting causing many to flinch painfully.  She hugged the other woman tightly.  "Oh, how are you doing, poor girl?"

Jesse swallowed a cough.  "Terrible.  Glad you're okay, though."

"Oh, I thought you had died or something!!" James was wailing loudly.

"I thought I was going to die!" wailed back Neko.  Both went into another fit of waterworks.

Meowth simply looked on in annoyance at the happy reunion, Kio looking similarly disturbed, though his was more of a confused type of horror.

"Enough talk—where's my food?!"

Neko calmed immediately, pulling a large grocery bag out of nowhere.  "Right here!  My personal flu and cold survival kit!"  She grinned cheerily, handing the bag to Jesse.  For safety reasons.  James looked about ready to eat the entire bag, wrappers and all.

"Ooh, what's in it?!"  James frantically tried to peer into the contents over Jesse's shoulder.

Neko looked serious, ticking the items off on her fingers.  "Instant ramen, herbal tea, Halls Menthols, Nyquil and Dayquil, hot water bottles, fashion magazines from a year ago, three pair of bunny slippers—"

"Yippee!"

She continued, ignoring James' giddy jumping.  "—a Buddha idol fashioned out of bottle caps, a "Sing-a-long to Show Tunes" cassette, five shades of nail polish, an all-you-can-eat buffet from Perkins, a decapitated Barney doll for stress relief and a deluxe box of variety donuts."

James and Meowth quickly tore into the bag.

"Donuts!!"

"Give me da show tunes cassette!"

Jesse sighed dreamily, eyes shining.  "Oh, you guys are lifesavers!  Now move over, James!  I call the nail polish!"

Neko, Galaxia, Kio, Mondo and Chan-saw watched the three tear into the supplies like a trio of rabid pandas.

"They don't seem too sick to me…"

"It's the fever, Galaxia.  It'll wear off after awhile."

Kio cocked an eyebrow.  "That's some fever."

Neko smiled cockily.  "What, no snappy comeback?"

"He's in shock," remarked Galaxia matter-of-factedly.

"Whatever." Kio rolled his eyes.

Mondo stared at the three meaningfully.  "What took you so long?!"

They looked at each other, then back at the trainee.

"Don't ask!"

*           *           *

After awhile, just as Neko said, the trio did calm down.  In fact, they're brief adrenaline rush left them even more drained than they had been before the three cadets had arrived and they were forced to take a short nap.

Now the whole group had been fed and settled in, gathered around a small bonfire for warmth in the chill March weather.  James dozed comfortably against Jesse's shoulder, who was meticulously painting her nails a bright cherry red, as Meowth and Chan-saw played a quiet game of Go Fish!.  Seated nearby, Neko stroked a now-conscious Raichu soothingly, wrapping its wounds in the bandages Mondo had given her.  Kio had gone off somewhere nearby with his Scyther to practice his karate and Galaxia was contentedly perusing a 1999 issue of _Cosmopolitan and rating the models with a critical eye.  _

Mondo was preoccupied in an attempts to convince Meowth and Chan-saw to let him join their card game.  He was currently being ignored.

"Do you think Raichu will be okay until you can get it to a PokéCenter?" Jesse asked Neko in concern, looking up from her manicure momentarily.

Neko pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "I hope so.  Because I don't know how soon that will be."

Raichu looked up at her and smiled comfortingly.  "Rai!  Rai, rai!"

"You'd still fight if all your limbs were missing."

Jesse scowled sourly.  "Wish I could say the same for my Pokémon."  She sighed, smiling slightly.  "What can I say, though?  I love them anyway."

"No matter how lame dey is!" piped up Meowth.

Jesse threw a pinecone at him.

Neko's eyes seemed to spark, remembering something.  "Hey, Mondo was telling me there was something you needed to talk to me 'n Galaxia about!"

Galaxia looked up from her magazine in curiosity.

Jesse nodded.  She flushed a bit, embarrassed.  "Well, I sort of had another favor I wanted of you two…"

The blonde cadet smiled benevolently.  "Fire away!  After all, we've come all this way, we might as well help you while we're here!"

The thief smiled gratefully.  "Well, after we heard that you two were coming to help Mondo, James and I thought that maybe you two could…stand-in for us while we're sick."

Neko looked curious.  "What do you mean, 'stand-in'?"

"Well, we figured that by the time the three of us are better, the twerps will be so far ahead, it will take us weeks to catch up to them.  So we thought that if you two could keep them distracted until we're better so they don't get too far ahead, we wouldn't have to make up for so much lost time."

Galaxia looked impressed.  "Makes sense to me."

"Me too," added Neko.  "I just don't know how exactly we'd do that."

Jesse laughed.  "Oh, I'm sure you'll come up with something!  After all, James and I always seem to."

"And Meowth!"

"Yeah, you too, loud-mouth."

Neko seemed to consider it for a few minutes.  Finally she smiled resignedly.  "Well, I suppose I'll have to borrow your Arbok, then.  Raichu won't be of much help for awhile."

"Chu…" pouted Raichu sourly.

Jesse looked uncomfortable.  "Um, I really don't think Arbok would be much of a help…"

"Okay.  How about James' Victreebell?"

"I really don't think you'd want any of our Pokémon."

Neko looked pensive.  "Where am I suppose to get another Pokémon?  I can't battle with just Gastly."

Chan-saw looked up from her card game cheerily.  "Sey!  Chansey, chan!"

The redhead looked at her skeptically.  "You sure, Chan-saw?"

The pink Pokémon chirped brightly in reply, waving her arms happily.  Meowth took the opportunity to sneak a glance at her hand.

Kio walked back into camp, wiping the sweat off his brow with a towel as he hooked his Scyther's Pokéball back onto his belt.

"What did I miss?  Girl talk?"

Neko rolled her eyes, giving him a withering glance.  "Business arrangements.  Butt out, Kio."

The dark-haired cadet shook his head in mock reprisal.  "Again with the sarcasm!"

Neko resisted the urge to bite his head off further.

Jesse was giving her a knowing glance, one which Neko knew she had seen someone else give her but couldn't quite remember who.  The older girl shook her head gently to herself, finishing up her nail job and putting the nail polish away somewhere, James stirring a bit against her shoulder.

"You two look so cute together," remarked Neko suddenly, an odd smile on her lips.

Jesse blushed despite herself.  "Neko, I think you're beginning to come down with a fever as well..."

Neko laughed, finishing the last bandage on Raichu and calling it back in it's ball.  "Nope, I'm perfectly fine."

"Except in the attitude department!" piped up Kio snidely.  This time Neko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Go stick your head in a bear trap, moron."

"Ladies first!"

Jesse sighed, feeling her meds beginning to wear off.  "I think I'm going to follow James' example and take a well-needed nap…"

`"Good luck," muttered Neko, picking up another of the fashion magazines and flipping through it.

Easing James gently off her shoulder, Jesse curled up comfortably on her side, ignoring the loud commotion of the camp with some difficulty and closing her eyes tightly against the midday sun.

Beside her, James shivered slightly, cold after losing the warmth of her shoulder.  Inconspicuously, she gave a gentle kick to his shin and he turned on his side once again, throwing his arm over her waist comfortingly.

Jesse gave a little sigh of contentment, and slowly drifted off into sleep.

Neko smiled knowingly to herself.  "Like I said.  Cute."

*           *           *

When James awoke it was nearly dusk.  The camp was bustling loudly, apparently in the middle of dinner.  Someone had thrown several blankets over him and Jesse, who was still sleeping soundly, her face slightly flushed with fever.

He snuggled closer under the covers, trying to block out the others' voices and feeling the beginnings of a sinus headache kicking in.  Jesse was so nice and warm and smelled so good.  He just wanted to fall back to sleep.

"James, they're going to do it."

The blue-haired thief jumped in surprise.  He had thought Jesse was asleep.

"They are?"  His throat itched terribly and he stifled a cough.  "That's good."

Jesse 'mm-hmm'ed drowsily in response.  He felt her hand squeeze his arm affectionately under the covers and he smiled softly to himself.

"Jess, maybe this sick thing won't be so bad."

"Maybe," she replied evasively.  "As long as we don't run out of meds."

"Hmm, I second that."

The redhead was silent for several moments and James thought she had drowsed off once again.  Then she sighed irritably.

"Now if only someone would bring me some damned Nyquil!"

James whined pitifully.  "But Jesse, I just got comfortable again!"

She kicked his shin sharply.  "Now, buddy!  Or no more snuggling!"

James groaned in defeat and crawled away to get the Nyquil.

*           *           *

Galaxia yawned lengthily.  She hadn't gotten much sleep that night because of Neko and Kio's constant bickering over everything and nothing.  The blonde groaned inwardly.  She had a feeling they had another long day ahead of them.

At her feet, Flareon whined softly, cocking it's head hopefully.

"Alright already, I'll get you your breakfast…"

She rummaged through her supply bag, searching for the Poké Chow.

"Hey Neko, where's the Poké Chow?"

Neko looked up from her breakfast.  "Um, I think it's over by Jess 'n James' bags.  Hey, while you're at it, wanna' feed their Pokémon as well?"

Galaxia nodded, getting up from her seat reluctantly and retrieving the food and Pokéballs.

"Alright you guys, breakfast time!"

The four Pokéballs shook momentarily, the Pokémon inside appearing in a cascade of red light and a chorus of noisy cries.

"Chaar-BOK-a!"

"Whee!"

"Eeee!"

"Licki!"

"Flare!  Flare-Ee-ON!" cried Flareon in indignation, bounding over for first dibs.

Galaxia cried out nervously, hurriedly dishing out the food and backing away before she could get mauled by the hunger-crazed animals.

"Don't you guys feed your Pokémon?!"

Jesse looked up from her instant ramen with a blank expression.  "Hey, we forgot.  We were busy yesterday!"

James peered around her shoulder quizzically, wrapped in a blanket for warmth.  "Hey, where's my breakfast?  I want ramen!"

"Get your own!" growled his partner dangerously, baring her teeth.  James pouted sourly.

"Here James-san, have a donut," offered Neko, tossing him the half-empty box.

"Ooh!  Eee-hee-hee!"

"That's real healthy sick food," commented Galaxia pointedly.

"I'm not his doctor!"

"You'd make a terrible doctor."  James grinned.  "But a great lunch lady!"

"She'd probably be charged with malpractice," muttered Kio from his sleeping bag.  Neko threw a magazine at him.

Mondo looked up from where he was feeding his Ditto and Tauros.  "Perhaps we should make a quick supply check before Miss Neko and Miss Galaxia head out."

Neko waved a donut dismissively.  "Already did it, Mondo-san!  Now all I need to do is find Chan-saw a Pokéball!"  She took a bite of the pastry, scowling thoughtfully.

"Sey!  Chansey, chan!"

Meowth looked up from his can of tuna.  "I don't got a Pokéball, lamebrain!"

"Chan!  ChanSEY!"

Meowth narrowed his eyes angrily.  "Grr!  Ahm just as free as you are, powder-puff!"

"That's because the Boss dropped you like a bad habit!" piped up James cheerily, snickering to himself.

"Eh, shuddap, Jimmy…!"

Jesse shrugged nonchalantly, a smile playing on her lips.  "Maybe the same could be said for a certain loud-mouth cat.  Anyway, Neko-chan, James and I have plenty of empty Pokéballs we could loan you."

James nodded.  "We don't always steal our Pokémon."

"What are you guys talking about?  You two haven't caught or stolen a single Pokémon in ages!"

"Danks for remindin' us, Galaxia…"  

Galaxia stuck her tongue out cheekily at the cat.  "You're welcome, Meowth!"

Kio groaned, reluctantly climbing out of his bedroll and coming to the fire to get some breakfast.  "Okay, I hate to interrupt all these important conversations, but what exactly am I going to be doing this whole time?  I didn't exactly plan on getting stranded in the middle of the woods somewhere."

"Oh, don't worry, you're free to leave whenever you want!  Good riddance!"

James looked confused.  "I'm sure Mondo could give you a ride back to headquarters.  But what happened to your car?"

Chan-saw burst out laughing suddenly.  "Seey!"

Meowth snickered.  "Chan-saw says, 'It met a cement truck!'"

"Ouch."

Neko put her hands on her hips indignantly.  "Because of inattentive driving, of course!"

Kio scoffed.  "And who made that driver inattentive, stupid?"

"Don't blame me for your less-than-stellar driving skills."

"At least I have driving skills!"

"Ooh, ouch!  I'm really insulted, Mr. Hot-Rod!"

"Ooh, where's _your mind this morning, kitten?"_

"Bite me, Kio!"

"Where and how hard?"

Jesse and James had dry expressions on their faces.

"Why exactly do I find this familiar?"

"Because they've been going at it since yesterday morning!" screamed Galaxia in annoyance, pulling her hair.

"Seey…" murmured Chan-saw, shaking her head.

Mondo looked ill.  "I think they're giving me a headache…"

"Di-too…"

"Meowth!  Someone put a sock in dey're mouths!"

*           *           *

After Neko and Kio's bickering had been successfully taken care of and the breakfast mess cleared away, the whole group gathered around the fire for one last time.  

Neko impatiently fingered the two Pokéballs now in her possession, having left her Raichu in Mondo's care, while Galaxia fidgeted uncomfortably, waiting for the others to quiet down so that she could make an announcement.

"Alright," began Jesse, giving everyone a firm glance for their attention.  The others quieted down obediently.

"This is the plan.  The brats should be on the move now, just west of here.  Galaxia and Neko, you're going to trail them and keep them occupied to make sure they don't get too far."

"Want us to cage 'em?"

"You can try but I doubt you'll be able to."

"There's just one little thing," spoke up James, sneezing.  "No capturing Pikachu!"

"Aw!  Why not?"

"Da rat's ours!"

"Fine."  Neko looked hopeful.  "Can we pick on it a little?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Heh, heh…"

Kio butted in hastily.  "Wait, what am I suppose to do?  I don't exactly want to hang around with a bunch a sick people while you guys go play practical jokes on a bunch of grade school kids."

"Aw, really?  I was hoping you would catch the flu too, or something."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, kitty.  I know how much you like it hot."

"Oh, you wish!  And don't worry, you couldn't get a rise out of me if you were the last man on earth."

"Yeah, I suppose I'd have to get a sex-change to do that."

"You pig!"

"Ooh look, I already got you talking dirty again."

Jesse sighed in irritation, James grinning knowingly beside her.  "Children, let's keep the hormones in check, alright?"

"I'm beginning to feel like a guest on the Jerry Springer show…" sighed Mondo.

Galaxia stood up suddenly, surprising everyone.  "Save the bickering for later, you two!  I have an announcement to make!"

"I'm not going."

Everyone froze.  "What?!" they cried after regaining their voices.

Neko looked at her friend, wide-eyed.  "Galaxia, what's going on?!"

"I'm not going," repeated the blonde simply, sitting back down again.

Jesse narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.  "What are you planning, Galaxia?"

"G-chan, I can't do this alone!"

"That's what I'm trying to get at, Neko.  You won't be alone."

James smirked knowingly.  "I see where this is going."

"Kio will go with you."

There was another cry of surprise from Neko and Kio, as well as Mondo and Meowth.  "What?!"

Kio shook his head hastily.  "Wait just a second, I never agreed to anything!"

"I'm not going with him!"

Galaxia looked at Neko expressionlessly.  "Kio's the better man for this mission."

Jesse smiled slyly.  "I think it's a great idea."

"But what about my partner?!  Galaxia, partners aren't suppose to split up unless it's an emergency!"

"Yeah, Galaxia, listen to your partner!"

"I know.  But I think we can make an exception."

"Actually, there really isn't any rule against this kind of thing," cut in Mondo seriously.  "It's more important to get the best man for the job than keeping teams together."

Meowth grinned cattily.  "Dis should be interestin'…"

Neko and Kio scanned the others' faces frantically, unable to come up with further arguments.

"Why don't you both just swallow your pride for now until you've pulled off this mission?" suggested Jesse sweetly, getting up from her seat and facing the two with hands on hips.

"Just think of it as a job," added James helpfully, climbing to his feet and joining Jesse, arms crossed.

Kio sighed in defeat, seeing the sense in it.

"Alright, fine.  After all, I'm stuck here until Mondo here is through nursing you three back to health anyway."

"But why do I have to get stuck with _him?" growled Neko in irritation, but otherwise, she seemed to grudgingly accept._

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about this, either, Miss Prissy-pants!  Let's just make the best out of the situation, alright?"

"I can't believe I'm letting all of you talk me into this!"

James grinned innocently.  "Because you love us!"

"Don't be too sure…"

Kio rolled his eyes, packing up his things resignedly.  "I don't think that girl loves anyone but herself."

Neko smiled darkly.  "Oh, of course I do, Kio-san—anything that doesn't remind me of you."

"Guess she don't love 'erself, den," muttered Meowth under his breath.  Jesse shushed him sharply.

Neko slung her meager supply pack over her shoulder, Kio following suit with his own bag.

"Guess we'll see you guys in a couple of days?"

Jesse and James smiled wanly.

"Don't have too much fun."

"Ha, ha.  I'm having a blast already."

Mondo tossed Neko a small electronic device.  "We'll call you when the team is feeling better."

"Are you sure you're not already?"

"If I wasn't so doped up on antihistamines right now, I'd hit you for emphasis," groaned Jesse, beginning to sound woozy again.

Kio shrugged, looking at Neko.  "Guess that's a 'no.'"

"Yeah.  Great."

Galaxia grinned brightly, giving Neko a quick hug.  "Look on the bright side, Neko!"

"I would if there were a bright side."  The redhead sighed in frustration.  "Okay, let's blow this Popsicle stand…"

*           *           *

Ash and his friends had been travelling for several days now, strangely unhindered by the ever-present Team Rocket.  Ash had expressed extreme relief but Misty and Brock seemed suspicious.

"Do you think they're up to something really big this time?" worried Misty, holding her precious Togepi tightly.  

The three had been walking through the same large stretch of forest for the entire day and Ash couldn't count the number of times Misty had made that same comment.  He sighed loudly in irritation.

"Big deal if they are!" he replied curtly.  "It's not like any of their plans ever work anyway!"

"Pika," agreed Pikachu pointedly.

Brock looked more pensive than usual.  "Maybe so.  It's just weird that we haven't been bothered by them once in the last three days."

"Hey, maybe they died!"

"Whatever, Ash."

"Well, I'm _trying to look on the bright side, Misty!  Sheesh!"_

"That's a creepy optimism, Ash," muttered Brock uneasily, backing away slightly.

"Okay, then maybe they got arrested."

"Pi-chu!"

"Since when are you on their side?!"

Misty rolled her eyes.  "Pikachu's not on their side, it's just being realistic.  Face it; you've got your dumb luck and Team Rocket's got there's."

"They sure are dumb, but they're definitely not lucky!"

"Pi, pikachu, pika, pika, pi!"

"They're not invincible!  That's just stupid!"

"Pika!"  The electric rat fried him in annoyance.

Ash blinked away the ashes on his face.  "Did I say stupid?  I meant brilliant…"

Misty sighed.  "Looks like Ash has been reduced to ashes again."

The burnt trainer crumbled into a pile of, well, ash.

"Oh, boy," grumbled Brock.

The young trainer was just pulling himself together, when a familiar cry came from the path ahead of them.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" added a masculine voice.

Ash-tachi groaned loudly.

"So much for thinking they died or something…!"

"Maybe they did and we're just hearing things," replied Misty irritably.

Brock rubbed his temples in annoyance.  "Well, let's get this over with…"

The feminine voice laughed in its familiar evil manner.

"We'll see about that twerps!"  A shadowed figure leaped nimbly off a nearby tree branch and landed several yards ahead of the three trainers, still in shadow.  "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To…unite all people in our nation," replied the male voice, a bit uncertainly, leaping down next to join it's companion in the shadows.

The first figure seemed to huff momentarily in annoyance.  "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" she continued, a bit stiffly.

Ash-tachi exchanged weird glances.

"They're loopier than normal."

"Must be the pine scent."

"To extend our…um…our, to extend something to the skies above!"

Finally the female figure turned to her partner in annoyance, hands on hips.  "Half-wit, get the lines right already!"  Her voice didn't sound quite right this time.

The other grumbled darkly.  "Well did you have to write them on a dinner napkin?!  None of this junk makes sense!"  

The male's voice wasn't whiny like Ash-tachi was used to.  The three turned to the shadowed couple with accusing glances.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Ash.

"Who are you people?"

The two figures sighed in irritation.  "Look, you gave us away, moron!" snapped the girl, smacking her partner angrily.

The two of them walked into the light, fixing the three kids and two Pokémon with wicked grins.

"Let's just say there's a new team in town," chuckled the girl evilly.

The dark-haired man beside her grinned gamely, his stance cocky.  "And we're looking for someone to play with."  He produced a Pokéball from his belt, enlarging the small orb to full size.

"I think we've found our playmates…"

Ash glared challengingly, pulling out his own Pokéball.  "I don't know who you two are, but you're playing with the wrong kids!"

Misty and Brock nodded in determination.

The two Rockets simply smiled further in amusement, the girl pulling out a Pokémon of her own.

"Let's rumble, kiddies!"  With an evil laugh, she tossed the Pokéball out onto the field and the battle began.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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	3. Part Three

February 5, 2001

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket or any of the original Pokémon characters.  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART THREE

"Gastly, go!"

In a blaze of crimson light the hazy, ghost Pokémon appeared, grinning wickedly at its opponents.

Ash blinked momentarily, thrown off by the young Rocket's choice of Pokémon.  "A Gastly?"  He seemed to recover his shock however, squaring his shoulders in determination.

"Alright then!  Charizard, I choose you!"

The large orange dragon roared challengingly, appearing on the field.

Neko seemed unfazed however.  She grinned knowingly to herself.  "Such a waste of power.  A pity…"  Arms crossed confidently, she gave Gastly a curt glance.  "Hypnosis, Gastly."

The Pokémon chuckled to itself, giving its master a cheeky nod.  Then it turned to its opponent, eyes narrowed evilly.  Glowing a ghostly blue, they emitted a wide band of hypnosis waves that hit the unsuspecting Charizard square in the eyes.

Ash watched his strongest Pokémon collapse like a rock in amazement, curling its tail around itself for comfort and going to sleep.

"No!  Charizard!"

Misty rolled her eyes dryly.  "Maybe you should have started with brains instead of brawn…"

Neko studied her kill with an appraising eye, tapping one finger to her chin artfully.  She turned to Kio, who had been patiently awaiting his turn, hands rested lazily on his hips.

"Well, I suppose I could give you a go and make this more interesting, neh?"

Kio grinned gamely, arching an eyebrow roguishly.  "Such humble generosity, kitten."

Across the field, Ash was already sending out his second Pokémon, anger written on his already determined face.  "You won't win that easily, Team Rocket!  Pikachu, show them your stuff!"

"Pikachu!"  Sparks flew as the little electric rat took the field.

Neko's eyes narrowed cautiously, but Kio ignored the threat, throwing his own Pokémon into the fray.

"Scyther!  Go!"

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

The large, mantis-like Pokémon threw up its two blade-like arms just in time to block the small electric attack.

"Quick Attack, Scyther!"

"Sccyyy!"  Scyther leaped nimbly at the small Pokémon, slashing out with one vicious curving blade.  Pikachu leaped out of the way, but not quite in time, catching the wicked blow in the shoulder.

Ash grit his teeth angrily.  "Pikachu, Agility!"

Kio's eyebrows were narrowed in concentration.  "Swords Dance, Scyther!"

The small electric mouse was easily deflected by the fast whirling of the larger Pokémon.

"Get inside Scyther's attack, Pikachu!" commanded Ash quickly, seeing the Pokémon prepared to release its deadly attack.

As Scyther ceased its spinning, it let loose with a heavy rain of slicing blows.  But its attack was useless, as Pikachu easily dodged its razor-like arms.  It hit the insect Pokémon square on the hard breastplates of its chest, latching onto the grooves tightly with its claws.

Ash grinned victoriously.  "Thunder, Pikachu!"

The large jolt of electricity quickly took the bug and flying-type Pokémon out.

Kio growled angrily.  "Scyther, return!"

Ash was laughing victoriously, jumping around ridiculously as he ridiculed the beaten Rocket.  "Ha, that was ridiculous!  Everyone knows you don't use a flying-type against an electric-type!  You idiot!"

Kio rolled his eyes, calmly returning his single Pokéball to its place on his belt.  "Perhaps.  But I had nothing to lose."  He grinned smugly, motioning toward Neko and her Gastly who were calmly standing by, matching expressions of boredom on their faces.

"You see, we're not beaten yet."

"Think before you speak, lamebrain," grumbled Misty in embarrassment, rubbing her head.  Togepi looked distressed.

"Fine!  Pikachu, Thundershock that Gastly!"

The electric mouse shot a fast jolt of electricity in Gastly's direction but the Pokémon simply fazed out, the electricity shooting harmlessly through the air.

Neko took advantage of Ash's dumb shock, giving her partner a derisive look.

"You could have done a little damage, at least."

"Hey, Scyther got a hit in.  So sue me if my only Pokémon is weak against electricity."

She sighed dramatically, ignoring the one-sided battle going on in the background as Pikachu shot jolt after jolt of useless electricity and Gastly easily dodged it every time.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job…!"

"Hmm, at least they're putting up a good fight," commented Brock optimistically to Misty from the sideline.  The redhead nodded in agreement.

"Ash needed a good dose of reality."

"Pika!" growled Pikachu in irritation, getting annoyed with its opponent.

"Look, Neko, I know you're enjoying your twisted little self here, but do you think you could get this over with anytime soon?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on!"

"Are you sure you didn't mean it the other way around?"

"Bite me, Kio.  I'll deal with you later."  She extended a commanding arm in Gastly's direction.  "Confuse ray, Gastly, and catch it by surprise!"

Gastly obeyed gladly, sending Pikachu into a dazed confusion with a hard stare.

"Piii~~chuuu~~!" muttered Pikachu dazedly, stumbling drunkenly.

Gastly rolled about in laughter, tears in its eyes.

"Aw, Gastly's having fun!"

Kio tapped his foot impatiently.  "Neko, I'm going to get lock-jaw if I yawn anymore."

She rolled her eyes, imitating him mockingly.

Ash looked as confused as his Pokémon.  "Um, Quick Attack, Pikachu…"

Pikachu promptly smacked itself in the face, knocking itself off of its feet.  This succeeded in sending Gastly into greater fits of laughter, who was practically in pain by now.

"Urgh, moron…!" hissed Misty to herself, smacking her own forehead in disgust.

Brock looked up from the pot of stew he had been cooking while Ash got his butt whooped by the two strange Rocket members.  "Guess all Team Rocket members aren't the same."

"Nah!  First day luck!  We'll probably get screwed over soon!" shouted Kio from the other side of the field.

Neko nodded sternly.  "Wouldn't want to make Jess 'n James look bad, would we?"

"Yeah, we'll let them do that on their own."

"Pikachu, get up!" yelled Ash in panic.  The Pokémon spun its limbs uselessly, unable to right itself in its confused stupor.

Brock shook his head reprovingly.  "Too many frosted cupcakes after dinner."

"Alright, Gastly, Hypnosis!" Neko commanded reluctantly under Kio's forceful stare.

The electric mouse was soon asleep, alongside its fire-breathing comrade whom Ash had forgotten to return to its Pokéball.  Ash commenced to weep pathetically.

"Is Ash through getting his butt kicked yet?" asked Brock impatiently, looking up from the full dinner spread he had laid out.  "Dinner's getting cold."

"Aw, let's not wait for him.  Can you pass the butter?"

"Oh, screw this—"

"Ash, don't swear!"

"Shut up, Misty!"  Ash turned back to the two Rockets angrily.  "I'm sending all my Pokémon out against you losers!"

"Isn't it a little ridiculous to call us losers if we're winning so far?"

"Oh, you shut up too, girl!"

Neko sniffed.  "I have a name, y'know!"

"Well what is it then?!  I'm getting kind of sick sitting here trying to figure out what to call you guys!"

"Tell you later!"

"Tell me now!"

"No!"  The redhead gave him an akanbe.  "Gastly, hypnotize them all!  I'm getting tired!"

"Finally!" sighed Kio in relief.  Neko gave him a dirty look.

Misty looked up from her dinner hastily.  "Hey, could you wait until we're through with our dinner?"

"Yeah, the croissants get a bit stale if you don't eat them right away, and—"

All three were quickly silenced as Gastly released another wave of hypnosis waves and sent them all snoring.

Kio turned to Neko with a disdainful expression.  "We could have been through with this whole thing along time ago, you know."

"I know, but where's the fun in that?  I've heard so much about those brats, I wanted to give them a good taste of Rocket power!"

"'Thought you said you didn't want to outdo Jesse and James?"

She raised her chin imperiously.  "I'm not."

"You're a such hypocrite, you know?"

Neko grinned cutely, something she hadn't done for several days.  "I know!"

There was a strangely intent look in Kio's eyes at her behavior, but he didn't say anything.  Walking over to the two sleeping Pokémon in the middle of the field, he kicked at them experimentally with the toe of his boot.

"So now what do we do with them?"

Neko bounded over eagerly, giggling impishly to herself.  Oddly, she reminded him of Galaxia with the action but he brushed it away.

There was a mischievous glint in her stormy blue eyes as she looked up at him.  "Let's play a little joke on the brats…"

*           *           *

Galaxia watched the flames meditatively, a contemplative look on her lovely features that was only accented by the surreal glow of the orange flames

"I wonder what Neko-chan is up to…"

"Probably giving those brats a hard time," commented Jesse affectionately, coming up behind her.  She took a seat next to the blonde in front of the fire, gently cradling a cup of soup in her cupped hands.

Galaxia smiled at her wanly, turning back to the flames thoughtfully.  "More probably giving Kio a hard time."

Jesse smiled.  "Probably."  She sneezed lightly, making a sour expression of annoyance.  "Damn cold…"

"Think you'll be better in a day?"

"I wish.  But I doubt."

The blonde leaned back on her hands reflectively.  "I just feel a bit guilty ditching my best friend like that."

Jesse shrugged dismissively, sipping her soup carefully.  "Sometimes best friends need to be ditched."  When Galaxia looked a bit shocked, she shook her head in correction.  "Meaning, you can't always rely on each other."

"I see."

"Apparently you do.  Otherwise you wouldn't have done it, would you have?"  She smiled at the cadet good-naturedly.

The blonde shook her head.  "You're being wise tonight."

The redhead sighed heavily.  "It's the drugs!  They're having an Obi-Wan effect on me."

"I kind of like the effect," commented James wryly, coming over and wrapping a blanket around Jesse's shoulders.  He sat down as well, joining the two of them by the fire.

"Watch out, I might get philosophical on you."

Meowth looked up from across camp where he was getting a backrub from Mondo.  "What's ta philosophize about if ya heads full 'a mush?"

"Shut up, Meowth.  Don't think the ability to talk makes you intelligent."

"More intelligent dan da two of youse."

"Mondo, give him more painkillers."

"Sure, senpai!"

"Yeeaagh!"

James chuckled to himself.  The drugs and fever had left him strangely serious and subdued, so he didn't bother to join the argument.  "What's on your mind, G-chan?"

The blonde looked startled.  "Oh!  Nothing really."  She pursed her lips thoughtfully, realizing that both Jesse and James were still watching her intently.  "What?"

Both smiled, a bit sneakily.  "Why did you really send Kio with Neko?" asked Jesse.

The blonde smiled secretively.  "So that's what this is all about."  She sighed, laughing slightly to herself.  "Actually, I really did think he was better for the job.  I just never explained why."

"Go on."

She leaned back again, unable to stifle a yawn.  "Well, if I went with Neko, the two of us may be able to hold our own against the brats, but we wouldn't make as much of an impression because we get along so well and everything would go off smoothly.  I figured I needed a J/J factor."

James cocked an eyebrow quizzically.  "What is a 'J/J factor'?"

Galaxia giggled.  "Why, it's your factor!  The fact that you three, especially you two—" she pointed at Jesse and James—"…don't always get along so well.  It helps to confuse your enemies and unexpected problems arise."

A slow smile of understanding crept across Jesse's face.  "And in this situation, plenty of problems are helpful."

Galaxia nodded.  "Right!"

James looked impressed.  "Hey, I never knew you could be so smart, G-chan!  Your roots aren't really blonde, are they?"

"Hey!"  She giggled though.  "Nope.  Don't tell anyone though."

"Tell anyone what?!" yelled Meowth in curiosity.

"That you have fleas!" yelled back Jesse testily, finishing her soup.

"So that's why I stayed here and made Neko put up with Kio."

"What's the other reason?"

Galaxia tried to look innocent.  "What other reason?"

Jesse snorted derisively.  "You're a lousy liar, Galaxia.  I know you didn't just send Kio with Neko because you thought it would help the mission."

The blonde shifted uncomfortably.  "So maybe I wanted them to try and get along for once…"

James' eyes lit up suddenly in realization.  "Hey!  I get it!  You thought that the two of them might get together if they were alone!"  He laughed hysterically, amused with the thought.  "Ha, that's the funniest thing I ever heard!"

Jesse's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It worked for you and Jess," spoke up Galaxia slyly.  James froze, an embarrassed look on his face.

"Oh.  Yeah."

Jesse hissed under her breath, annoyed.  "Idiot!"  She hit him over the head with her empty mug.

Galaxia sighed to herself, hugging her knees comfortably.  "Still, I guess James has a point.  It probably won't work.  After all, they don't just fight sometimes like you and James did; they seem to all-out hate each other."

James pulled himself back to a sitting position, rubbing his head sorely.  "You never know.  Perhaps they're both just afraid."

Jesse rolled her eyes.  "_Now what are you muttering about, James?"_

"Maybe they're afraid to trust each other."  He waved a finger admonishingly.  "You and I already trusted each other before we admitted our feelings.  Maybe they just need to pass that stage."

The redhead smiled gently and closed her eyes, shaking her head affectionately.  "Sometimes you surprise me, James-chan…"

"I don't know.  Maybe both of you are right," spoke up Galaxia doubtfully.  "But I think I was just being hopeful."

"Well, we'll see in a few days, won't we?" pointed out Jesse reassuringly.  She yawned, coughing slightly.  "In the meantime, I'm turning in for the night."

"Sounds like a good plan," voiced James lethargically.  Climbing to his feet, he helped Jesse to hers and the both of them left for the comfort of their sleeping bags.

Galaxia watched them go, trying to stifle a yawn of her own.  Unable to, she picked herself up as well and went to her own bedroll.

"We'll see…"

*           *           *

Ash moved his arms to stretch lengthily but found that he was unable to.  He opened one eye drowsily, trying to get a look at his surroundings and gasped in surprise at the realization that he was bound and gagged in a wedding dress.  Working his jaw frantically, he managed to loosen the gag from his mouth enough to shout in horror.

"WHAT AM I DOING IN A WEDDING DRESS??!!"

"Ash, keep your voice down!" hissed Misty frantically from somewhere nearby.  "Brock's still asleep!"

"WELL MAKE HIM WAKE UP!!  I WANNA' KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"

There was an annoyed groan from nearby, supposedly Brock.  "Keep it down, I was trying to sleep…"  He sat up and Ash was finally able to spot him.  Apparently someone had tied him to the bottom of the dinner table and then flipped it over on its side, sticking a pair of now-stale dinner croissants in his pockets and tying a Hop-A-Long Cassidy cowboy hat around his neck.

"We don't know anymore than you, Ash!" spoke up Misty again.  He turned.  The redhead was dressed in a ridiculous looking chipmunk costume, arms tied over her head in an expression of surrender.  

She looked like she were getting ready to run a potato sack race, but without the potato sack.

The young trainer struggled angrily in his bonds, kicking his legs frantically in frustration.  "Aargh, this is all those Team Rocket losers' doing!!"

"Technically they're not losers because they—"

"Ah, I know, Brock!!  Lay off it already…"

"Hey, where are our Pokémon?" wondered Misty worriedly.

"Duh!  Those Team Rocket losers—"

"They didn't lose—"

"I KNOW!!"  He huffed in annoyance.  "Those Team Rocket _people must have stolen them, of course!"  Ash struggled some more in his bonds, cursing Neko and Kio violently._

He stopped, realizing Brock and Misty were snickering to themselves.  "Hey, what's so funny?!"

Brock tried to hide his smile.  "It's just—"

"You look so stupid in that wedding dress!" snickered Misty, and the two of them burst out in hysterical laughter.

Ash growled threateningly.  "It's not funny!"  Both continued to laugh, ignoring him.  "Aargh!  Just help me get out of these ropes already!"

"Hey, stupid, we're kind of tied up too, you know!"

Ash sighed in annoyance.  "I think I actually miss the old Team Rocket…"

"No kidding.  At least they never tied me to the bottom of a dinner table."

"Oh, and this stupid costume isn't any worse?"  Misty pulled at her bonds angrily.  "Let's hurry and get out of these stupid things and go get our Pokémon back!"

"Pika!!  Pikachu!"

Ash blinked.  "Hey, where'd that come from?"

Misty looked perplexed.  "I…I think it came from that tree."

"Hey Pikachu, are you up in that tree?!"

The Pokémon made a sound of irritation.  "Chu!"

"I think Pikachu's tied up in that tree!"

Brock snorted derisively.  "Great detective work, Conan…"

"Prrriii!!"

Misty gasped.  "Togepi!"   She hopped over to the tree precariously, trying to look up.  "Aagh, my poor baby is up in a tree!"

"So why don't we get out of these stupid outfits and save them?"

"Then we're going to find those stupid Rockets and make them wear these stupid outfits!"

"I like that idea!"

"Alright!"  Ash was silent for a moment.  "Um, does anyone have something to untie these ropes with?"

Misty was quiet for a moment.  "No.  Do you?"

TO BE CONTINUED…

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	4. Part Four

September 2-3, 2001

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket or any of the original Pokémon characters.  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART FOUR

Kiosuke was slow to swim back to consciousness.  He had not been having the best of nights.

After a skimpy meal of instant ramen over a piddly fire, he and Neko had commenced to their usual pastime of debasing one another with cutting words, much to the distress of their camp-mate, Chan-saw.

"If you had a scrap of brain in your head, you would've had the sense _ahead of time to ask the others if you could borrow one of their Pokémon!"_

"Oh, so sorry _I'm not up to par, Miss Higher-than-God!  If you had any thoughts in your head other than your repertoire of cutting wit, you would've had the sense to send out Chan-saw in the first place!"_

"Oh, so now it's my fault!  Gee, sorry Kio for giving you a chance to participate instead of hogging all the glory to myself."

"Huh.  Glory.  Is that what you called it?"

"Screw off, Kio."

"Gladly…Neko-chan."

"God damnit, what did I tell you about calling me that?!"

Kio sighed.  Yes, it had been the usual.  But it had left the two of them unusually drained afterwards, and with a newer, tangled sort of feeling he couldn't explain.  Hurt.  Frustration.  Something else.

He had gone to sleep shortly after.  The night was bitingly cold, and the two of them had curled up on opposite sides of camp in their respective sleeping bags as well as they could in the frigid weather, but he could still feel the ache of cold in his bones.

Now as he slowly came to, he found a strange warmth resting against the curve of his back.  Kio blinked in surprise, drawing a sharp breath.  _What the—?!_

The warm bundle stirred, curling even closer under the close confines of the sleeping bag and Kio felt the heat rising to his face in embarrassment.  He continued to hold his breath, heart pounding insanely in his ears as he struggled not to wake the other occupant of his sleeping bag.

_Calm, Kio, calm, he told himself silently, trying to ignore the warm body pressing up against him.  __If you so much as breath, she's going to kill you._

Behind him, the other figure sighed contentedly.  His heart pounding a strange tipper-tape in his chest, Kio allowed himself a small smile of contentment and decided he would go back to sleep for just a little longer.

"Uh, Kio?  What the hell are you doing?"

Kio's gold eyes shot open in horror.

Neko-chan was standing over him, a curiously disturbed look on her face.

"Huh?"

The warm figure behind him stirred loudly.

"Chansey chan!" yawned the plush pink Pokémon, stretching her stubby arms and finding she was pinned and unable to move in the small sleeping bag.

Neko-chan's blue eyes glinted slyly.  Sighing imperiously, she stretched lazily herself.  "I don't wanna' know," she commented dryly, leaving the two to struggle wildly in the small bag.

Kio groaned in embarrassment.  "Chan-saw?!  What the hell?!"

"Sey!  Chansey chan!" cried the Pokémon pitifully, struggling to extract herself from the sleeping bag.

"I don't care if you were cold!  You're suppose to sleep in the Pokéball, dummy!"

"Sey!"  _;

After 5 minutes of struggling, the two managed to escape their polyester prison, much bruised and weary from the effort.

Neko-chan looked up from her breakfast of cold toast.  "Lonely last night, Kio-chan?"

Kio grimaced in annoyance, grabbing some of the stale bread for himself.  "Ha, ha.  I think we've all had enough amusement on my behalf this morning."

A charmingly sweet grin split the redhead's face.  "She any good in the sack?"

Chan-saw double-slapped her in annoyance.

"Thanks, Chan-saw."

"Seey…"

Neko-chan stuck her tongue out at the Pokémon, but Chan-saw was too busy shoveling food in her mouth to notice.

Kio was silent for awhile, chewing his toast thoughtfully.  Embarrassed as he was by the situation, he couldn't help but notice how much the thought of it being Neko curled up beside him had appealed to him at the time.  It bothered him and he blushed again at the thought.

_Stupid bitch!  I hate her, he thought viciously, redirecting his muddled emotions into more familiar territory.  He raised his gold eyes slightly, sensing Neko's amused gaze on him, and sent the redhead a cruel smirk for assurance of his feelings._

His heart did a sickening back-flip into his throat.

"So, what's on the itinerary for today, kitten?" he demanded cockily, ignoring the aerobics and summoning up his usual bout of cool confidence.

Neko frowned slightly, gaze shifting imperceptibly.  "Dunno', Kio, wasn't that your deal?"

_Hah, take that bastard!_

Kio pursed his lips thoughtfully, arching a brow.  _Well.  Touché.  "Huh.  Well in that case, I vote we stop playing kiddie games and take care of the Brat Crew."_

"They're not 'kiddie games', Kio.  They're diversionary tactics."

"Diversionary tactics, or sick mind games?"

A cruel grin flashed across the young woman's face.  She wasn't about to let Kio off the hook.

Or get the better of her.

"And this isn't, Kio?" she prodded huskily.  "'Sick mind games'?"

As much as he would have liked to tell her that comment didn't effect him, Kio was unable to hide his unease at her comment.  _Damn her._

"Really?  No idea what you're talkin' about, Neko-chan."

The tactic had worked.  Neko puffed up angrily, face red.

"Don't call me 'Neko-chan'!!"

Kio shrugged casually, inwardly flooding with relief.  Having diverted her momentarily, he decided he'd better change subject while he had the opportunity.

Climbing to his feet, the gold-eyed cadet brushed the crumbs from his pants absent-mindedly.  "We should probably get a move on if we want to have a head-start on those kids.  They're going to be pretty pissed once they get themselves untangled from those 'diversions' we left them."

Neko rolled her eyes.  "Well, duh!"  Huffily, she climbed to her own feet, gathering her supplies once again into the sacks they had been carrying.

Kio allowed himself a victorious grin when her back was turned and gathered up his own knapsack.

"Come on, Chan-saw," he called to the pink Pokémon, gesturing for it to follow.

Shoving the last piece of stale toast in her mouth, Chan-saw gave a small noise of acknowledgment and hurried after the tall Rocket.

Rolling her eyes once more, Neko followed close behind.

But the dirty look she shot in Kio's direction was lost on him, and soon dissolved into a muddle of feelings that had been irking her since the night before.

_Hate.  I hate him! she reminded her confused thoughts._

*           *           *

"I hate them I hate them I hate them I—HATETHEMIHATETHEMIHATETHEM!!"

Sighing unendingly, Brock and Misty paused in their walking to stare dryly at their young and extremely P.O.'ed friend.

"Yeah, I think we've grasped the depth of your feelings by now, Ash," grumbled Misty irritably.

"Give it a rest!" bemoaned Brock loudly.  Pikachu voiced his opinion as well.

Ash glared at Misty moodily.  "Ah, shut up, gigantic chipmunk girl!"

Misty growled threateningly, bunching the stumpy paws of the chipmunk costume as well as she could.  Yes, she was still wearing the dreadful thing.

The zipper was stuck.

"I wouldn't talk, you cross-dressing freak!" she screamed, smacking him over the head.

No, Ash was not still wearing a wedding dress.  But he was freakish enough without it.

"Both of you cut it out," spoke up Brock tiredly.  "We have to figure out a way to exact revenge on those Team Rocket guys."

Talk about your role reversals…

"That sounds like their lines," muttered Ash angrily.  In another bout of rage, he began to kick up large clumps of dirt with his shoe, shouting, "I HATE THEM I HATE THEM I HATE THEM!!!" like some insane mantra.

Brock looked on in depressed silence.  "We really need to look into new careers."

Wearying of Ash's massive tantrum, Pikachu fried him with 600 volts of pure electricity and they all continued on their walk once again, dragging Ash's crisp [near] corpse behind.

"What do you think happened to the old Team Rocket?" mused Misty after a few minutes of blessed silence.

Brock shrugged carelessly.  "Got sick of massive spaz case over there?" he suggested mildly.

Pikachu sighed in agreement.  "Piii!"  (Just for good measure, he kicks Ash in frustration.)

"Why'd they have to leave us with the doubly-psycho team?" grumbled Misty pissily.

"We're baa-aack…!"

"No, not again!" screamed Brock in annoyance, cussing loudly.

The two familiar figures of Neko-chan and Kiosuke stepped onto the path, followed closely by the tubby pink figure of Chan-saw.  The cuddly Pokémon looked uncomfortable without the familiar weight of the chainsaw in her hands.

Misty pointed one mittened hand at the two angrily.  "Hey, you!  Get this damned thing offa' me, you sick creeps!"

Neko-chan blinked.  "Take it off yourself.  It's just a costume."

"The zipper's jammed and you know it!"

Kio burst into insane laughter.  "You mean you've been wearing that thing all day?!"

Neko and Chan-saw burst into outrageous giggling, collapsing with the effort.

Misty huffed furiously.  "Shut up!"  The laughter increased.  "It's not funny!"

Out of nowhere, Ash leapt to his feet, still charred a nice crispy black.  Only his furiously glaring eyes were visible in the soot.

"You stole my masculine pride!!" he screamed insanely, stomping up and down and creating a cloud of…um, ash in the air around him.

At this, Neko, Kio, and Chan-saw only burst into further bouts of laughter.

"Masculine?!" gasped Kio, eyes tearing fiercely.  "Kid, you're voiced by a mother-freakin' woman, for crying out loud!"

Even Misty and Brock began giggling at that.

"Shut up!  Am not!"

"Piii!!" gasped Pikachu, pounding his fists into the dirt with laughter.

"You all suck!"

Neko-chan was the first to recover.  "Okay, everybody, let's get back to work."

Everyone paused, then burst into even more outrageous laughter.

Ash was now in tears.  "Come on, cut it out!!"

Pikachu zapped him once again to shut him up.

*           *           *

"A lion!  A-a, Zapdos!"

"Oh-oh, you're a fire-breathing sea monster that has crawled ashore Tokyo Beach to devour Japanese citizens!!"

Galaxia shook her head violently, making a face of frustration.  Thinking quickly, she arched her hands like paws and made a cat face.

Mondo snapped his fingers in realization.  "Ah, you're Neko-chan!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Galaxia nodded furiously.

James scowled.  "Well I was close."

"No you weren't," snorted Jesse derisively.  James stuck his tongue out at her.

Galaxia took her seat and Mondo eagerly leapt to his feet, turning to face the group.  "Okay, my turn, minna-san!"

James scowled.  "You're not going to do another impersonation, are you?  I suck at impersonations and the last five have been impersonations!"

Jesse grinned cattily, jabbing an elbow into his ribs.  "Do anything with food, though, and he'll get it right away!"

"Ow, Jesse, quit jabbing me!" ^ . ^;;

"You're such a whiner, James-chan," sighed Galaxia teasingly.

Mondo simply smiled pleasantly.  "Alright.  Here goes!"  He swung his arm about in front of him, indicating a circle.

"Pizza!!" ^_^

"James!"

Mondo shook his head, changing the action so that he was making a large 'O' with his arms, as if he were carrying something large.

"Uh, a fat person?"

"Santa!" shouted James.

"Round?" suggested Galaxia.

Mondo nodded eagerly.  Curling his hands in front of him, he made a galloping motion.

Jesse looked utterly confused.  "A jockey?  Round jockey?"

"Santa jockey!" shouted James.  Mondo made a face.

"Horse…back riding?" suggested Galaxia slowly.

Mondo pursed his lips thoughtfully and shook his head hesitantly.

James' tongue was sticking out in concentration.  "Um…um, a…warrior?  A knight!"

"Knights of the Round Table!" shouted Jesse victoriously.

Mondo shook his head.  Suddenly, he made the 'round' motion again with his arms, and then began galloping in a circle.

"Galloping…around?" suggested Jesse weakly.

"Horsing around?"

Galaxia's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.  "Hmm.  Horses going around…I get it!  A merry-go-round!"

Mondo nodded eagerly.  "Miss Galaxia wins!"

"Yippee!"

James was sour once again.  "Aw, nuts!  I hate Charades!"

"Then go help Meowth make dinner!" snapped Jesse bossily, kicking him motivationally.

"Oh!  I'm too sick to cook!" moaned James piteously.  He made a show of coughing violently and holding his forehead for fever.

"Baka!" harumphed Jesse, kicking him in the leg.

"Yay, yay, I get to go again!" Galaxia cried happily, ignoring the two Rockets for the time being.

Mondo was crouching over James in concern.  "Senpai??"

James pretended to be asleep.

"Jesse-senpai, do you think you should be kicking him when he is ill?"

"He's just faking it, the big baby!"

"Am not!" whined James, blowing his cover.  With a tiny 'eep', he went back to playing dead.

Losing her cheerfulness, Galaxia rubbed her temples and sighed.  "When are Né-chan and Kio gonna' get back?" she wondered dolefully.

"James-senpai, are you alright?  Speak to me!"

"James, quit playing possum already!"

*           *           *

When the laughter had finally died down and Ash had finally reverted to his non-crispy black self, the two groups faced off, glaring or smirking challengingly at one another.

"I hate you!  You're gonna' die!"  Ash, of course.

"Boy, that was a lame battle cry," muttered Neko in disgust.  "Why don't you try something with 'glorious victory' or 'taste my wrath' kinda' stuff in it?"

"Stupid stuff fits him better," said Brock with a shrug.  Misty nodded in agreement.

"All of you shut up!  Let's battle!"  Ash again.

Neko and Kio shrugged gamely, sharing a hardly contained self-satisfied grin between the two of them.

"Is that really all you wanna' do?" asked Neko innocently.

Kio nodded sagely.  "I mean, I thought you were a whole lot more pissed at us than that.  Shouldn't you try something a little harsher?"

Ash looked stumped.  "Like?"

"Uh, I dunno'.  A duel, a brawl, some kung-fu displays, maybe a little name-calling."

"Well we already did that!  Come on, let's just battle!" yelled Ash impatiently, turning his cap backwards.

Misty jumped in hastily, looking intrigued.  "No, wait Ash!  I'm interested!"

"You have any more ideas?" asked Brock, interest piqued as well.

Neko grinned slyly.  "Weeelll, perhaps a _few…"_

Ash started crying rivers in the background.  "I just wanna' battle!!"

Kio turned to Neko, eyebrow raised.  "Think they'll go for it, Neko-_chan?"_

"Of course, Kio-_chan."_

Misty sighed impatiently.  "Okay, you two.  Tell us this great idea."

*           *           *

Misty sighed depressingly.  "I can't believe we agreed to this."

"It's better than watching Ash make an ass out of himself with his Pokémon," pointed out Brock helpfully.  But he didn't look quite so thrilled himself.

"I HATE THIS!!  I DON'T WANNA'!!" cried Ash in a loud baby tone.

"Just keep counting, Ash," groaned Misty dryly.

*grumble grumble*  "…67, 68, 69…"

"You think it might be a trick?" murmured Brock.

"Most likely," replied Misty.  She looked down at the chipmunk costume.  "Anything to get out of this hideous thing, though."

"Pika!"  The little electric rat looked positively annoyed.

"And make Ash quit whining," agreed Brock.

"…89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94…"

*           *           *

"How'm I suppose to tell the difference between you two?" remarked Kio sourly, gesturing to the two Neko's before him.

Neko #1 smiled sweetly.  "You're not.  It's better if everyone is confused."

Kio huffed loudly.  He crossed his arms over his chest angrily, shooting a glare to first one and then the other.  "Come on, Gastly, help me out here!"

"Nu-uh!" chimed both Neko's in unison, grinning identically.

Kio rolled his eyes in annoyance.  "Great.  Yippee.  Let's party," he growled dryly, turning away in annoyance.

"Chansey!" put in the pink Pokémon comfortingly, patting his leg with one chubby paw.

Kio looked down at the tubby pink Pokémon gratefully.  Then he cast the Nekos another dirty glare.  "Why couldn't we make two Chan-saws instead?  One of you is bad enough!"

Both Nekos smacked him upside the head in annoyance.

*           *           *

"…99, 100!" Ash finished counting, jabbing an arm into the air.  "Alright, here we come, you Team Rocket losers!"

"Ash, do we have to go over the 'loser' part again?"

"Shut up, _Rescue Ranger-wannabe!"_

The three trainers and two Pokémon shared a look of grim determination and set off through the woods in opposite directions.

*           *           *

And now, for a brief repose from the turmoil of this hectic story, we join Meowth and Mondo for a brief lesson of Otaku Japanese, for the lingo-illiterate out there in reader land.

"Ohaiyo, minna-san!" greets Mondo with a bow and smile.

Meowth jerks a paw in the trainee's direction.  "He said, 'Hi', you dingbats."

Mondo's smile falters.  "Uh, yes.  Arigato, Meowth-shíshoo."  He smiles again.  "Today, we will be teaching commonly used suffixes!"

"Like '-shíshoo'," butts in Meowth.  "Dat means 'master', 'cuz Mondo is my slave."

"Ano, Meowth, perhaps you should let me teach today."

Meowth glares at him.  "Where's my suffix, slave boy?"

Mondo bows hastily.  "Sumimasen, Meowth-shíshoo!  But maybe I should—"

"Quiet, Mondo-kun, I've got lingo ta teach!" snaps Meowth.  The cat Pokémon clears his throat superficially.  "'-kun' is a suffix used between two males, usually one socially superior ta da other."

Mondo sweatdrops.  "Ano, senpai, but do you have to be so blunt about it?"

"Quit excusin' ya'self and speak up like a man, Mondo-kun!"  Meowth puts a paw to his face confidentially.  "He keeps sayin' 'ano', which is like sayin' 'excuse me' before speaking up."

*sweatdrop*  "Meowth-shíshoo, now you are just getting off-subject…"

Meowth's not listening to him.  "Now '-chan' is a suffix used between friends.  Roughly translated, it means 'dear', so usually only close friends 'n such use da term.  Which is why Neko goes postal on Kio when he calls her dat."

"And '-senpai' is a polite term roughly translated to 'senior', used when speaking to superiors," adds Mondo quickly, not wishing to be left out.

"Ahm doin' da teachin' here!" points out Meowth lazily.  "You give me a backrub, kid."

"Hai, Meowth-shíshoo!"

That's enough Japanese for today.  Hopefully you're vocabulary is larger for it, and your brain capacity not smaller…*sigh*  Next time we'll see about just letting Mondo host.

Back to the story.

*           *           *

Ash rustled the leaf fronds in front of his face, trying to get a better view of his quarry.

"Damnit!" he cursed, beating at it angrily with his PokéDex.  The foliage finally subsided, and he pushed his way through, tumbling headfirst into the little clearing on the other side…

"Chansey!"

…Straight into the plump stomach of a cheerfully grinning Chan-saw.

"Huh?"

Chan-saw smiled happily, swinging her economy-size mallet over her head.

"Chansey!  Chansey, chan!"

"Uh-oh…" squeaked Ash, just as the wooden mallet came down squarely on his head.

Chan-saw cooed in delight, swinging the borrowed mallet back over her shoulder, and skipped off back into the dense forest.

"Hey, what was that?" wondered Misty aloud, turning in the direction of the noise.  She stepped through the dense brushes, tripping over Ash's unconscious form.

"Yikes!  Ash, what are you doing?!" she screeched, dusting herself off angrily.

Ash only managed a moan.

In another part of the forest…

"Ash!  Misty!"

Brock turned a 180, then went back to trudging dolefully through the forest scenery.

"Oh man, I'm lost," he muttered darkly, kicking at a rock.

"Hello!" came a sweet voice from behind him, causing him to jump in terror.  Brock spun around hastily, only to see the redheaded Rocket member perched daintily on the rickety remains of a wooden fence running along the edge of the forest path.

"Yaagh!  You scared me!" he cried, clutching his chest.

The redhead giggled in amusement, swinging her boot-clad legs lazily.

Suddenly nervous, Brock let his eyes trail slowly up her form, unable to stop the slow crawl of a blush spreading across his face.  He couldn't help but notice she was just about his age.

And awfully cute.

"Whatcha' waitin' for?" prodded Neko sweetly, leaning forward ever so slightly.

Brock blushed even harder.  "Uh…what?"

Neko allowed another chuckle of amusement, hopping down off the fence.  "Well, the object of the game _is to tag the members of the opposite team, so maybe you should try to tag me."_

She stopped to bite her lip cutely.  "Otherwise, I might just have to tag _you instead, you know."_

Brock couldn't help it; he was a guy.  And he couldn't help but notice how many different ways the word 'tag' could be taken.

"Um…uh…tag?  Of course…"

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence between the two, and then Brock realized that a slight blush had begun to spread across the girl's face as well.  She lowered her eyes modestly.

"Um…how about I give you a head-start, 'cuz…I kind of like you," she muttered in embarrassment.  She looked up at him shyly with large, stormy-blue eyes.  "Would that be okay?"

Brock stuttered glibly.  "Um-uh, s-sure.  Okay."

Nobody moved for a few seconds, and then the young Pokémon breeder took a hesitant step in the redhead's direction.

_You just have to touch her—I-I mean tag her! He assured himself mentally.  __She's a Team Rocket member, not__ a pretty girl!  And she's not being nice—she's just messing with you!_

He was almost to her, within an arms' reach, when those stormy-blue eyes glinted mischievously.

"Wait, I changed my mind," murmured Neko slyly.  And suddenly she was no longer there.

Brock spun around in panic, just in time to see the Rocket member swing a large metal harisen* straight into his face.

Neko giggled mischievously, the harisen disappearing from her hand.  "Gastly!" she crowed happily, and suddenly the redhead Rocket was gone and the gaseous form of the ghost Pokémon had taken her place.

Laughing furiously, Gastly flew one last victory circle over the unconscious Brock and zoomed off into the woods in search of more victims.

*           *           *

_* : a club, usually made of paper, used to 'motivate' students.  That's what Tasuki's 'fan' really is._

*           *           *

"Looks like a sitting duck…"

Kio yawned in feigned boredom, stretching his arms behind his head and stepping out of the woods onto the path where the little electric Pokémon sat washing it's paws lazily.

"Ohaiyo, Pikachu-san!" he greeted the Pokémon lazily.  "Wanna' play?"

"Pi!"  The little Pokémon looked up from it's washing in surprise.

Kio tilted his head, feigning another yawn.  "Kind of boring, ain't it?" he commented conversationally, sitting down cross-legged across from the Pokémon.

Pikachu nodded, but eyed the Rocket member with a 'one move and I'll fry you' kind of look.

Kio put up his hands as if to prove his innocence.  "Ah, I don't care about this stupid game of Neko's."  He stuck out a hand to prove his sincerity.  "We just won't tell the others."

Pikachu continued to eye him suspiciously, but when Kio's look of bored disinterest never wavered, he stuck out his own paw and shook the proffered hand.

"Tag.  You're it," remarked Kio dully, leaning back on the palms of his hands as soon as the handshake was done.

Pikachu gaped at him.  "Chu?"

The dark-haired Rocket shrugged absently.  "Hey, I can't help it if I'm a bad guy."

The little electric rat began to spark dangerously.  "Pi…ka…!"

Out of nowhere, a large metal harisen hit him unconscious.

Neko-chan stood over the downed Pokémon, shouldering her harisen carelessly.  "Hey, no cheating," she remarked.

Her eyes flicked to Kio, who was still lazily stretched out on the path.  "That was cute," she commented appreciatively.

Kio opened one eye, studying her thoughtfully to determine whether she had been sarcastic.  Neko merely returned the look, plopping down beside him in the dirt with the harisen in her lap.

"Think the others got the rest of them yet?"

Kio narrowed his eyes.  "You telling me you haven't gotten any yet?"

Neko shrugged.  "I've gotten some."  She glared at him pointedly.  "Don't give me that—you only got the lousy Pikachu."

Kio scoffed, sitting up.  "Hey, do you know how hard it is to tag a Pikachu without getting your ass fried?!"

Neko couldn't help but smirk slightly.  "Okay.  I'll give you that."  She turned her gaze away, watching the wind rustle the nearby trees in a moment of peace.

Kio eyed her suspiciously, the muddle of feelings he had been feeling around her lately beginning to surface once again at her strange behavior.

"Are you Gastly?" he asked suddenly, eyeing her sternly.

She turned to smile at him slyly.  "Maybe," she teased, refusing to answer any further.

Kio scowled for a moment, turning away.  He watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to see if he could penetrate Gastly's illusion.

Neko-chan stood suddenly, dusting off the seat of her black skirt.  She offered Kio a hand, looking serious and businesslike.

"Come on.  We've still got a job to finish."

Still eyeing her strangely, Kio gripped her arm and pulled himself to his feet.

"I hate you, you know," he reminded her as they both turned back into the forest.

Neko smiled smugly.  "You might not.  I could be Gastly," she replied sweetly.

The gold-eyed cadet gave her a smug grin of his own.  "No.  'Cuz now I hate you both."

Neko, or Gastly—whomever it was—rolled their eyes dramatically.  "We're flattered."

TO BE CONTINUED…

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	5. Part Five

September 11, 2001 & February 3, 2002

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket or any of the original Pokémon characters.  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART FIVE

When Neko-chan and Kiosuke finally emerged from the woods, they were greeted with the welcome sight of Chan-saw.

"Let us go, you losers!"

As well as the Twerp Trio bound together with a whole lot of fisherman's rope.

"Chan-seey!"  .^_^.

Neko-chan smiled happily at the pink Pokemon, who was lovingly hugging a new chainsaw to her chest as she guarded her rowdy quarry.

"Hey, you got 'em, Chan-saw!  That's great!" the redhead congratulated cheerily.

Kio cocked a brow in curiosity.  "Where'd you get the chainsaw?"

If you well recall, Chan-saw's ill-fated power tool had been totaled along with the rest of Kio's car.

Chan-saw looked at him questioningly, and then chirped chipperly and inclined her head in the direction of another bound figure.

"You ran into a lumberjack?" exclaimed Kio dubiously, looking over the plaid-clad man with casual amusement.

"Hey, give me back my chainsaw!" demanded the man gruffly.  "And get me out of these damn ropes, you stupid Pokémon!"

Neko didn't spare the man a glance.  Instead she clasped her hands happily, grinning at Chan-saw and their good fortune.  "Well this is great, Chan-saw!  You've finally got your baby back!"

Chan-saw looked poutily at the old chainsaw.  "Sey…"

"We can get you a better one later."  Neko turned to the prisoners, an evil gleam in her blue eyes.  "But for now, it will do."

Misty looked nervously up at the other redhead.  "W-what are you going to do to us?" she demanded, a bit shakily.

Neko laughed evilly, sounding disturbingly like Jesse.  Kio gave her a look and sweat-dropped in silence.

"Why, we're just going to have a little fun, missy!"

"My name's Misty!"

"It could be 'Moses' for all I care."

Kio looked around sharply, trying to find something to divert the ensuing cat-fight.  "Hey, Neko, you think we should wait for…uh, you?"

The redhead looked confused.  "Huh?"  She blinked in realization.  "Oh yeah!  Me!"  Pulling out a whistle, she blew on it loudly.

There was an answering shout and then a disturbance in the nearby foliage, and an identical-looking Neko-chan leaped nimbly from a tree a few feet away, joining the rest of the group with a self-satisfied grin.

_The real Neko, thought Kio grimly, eyeing the two redheads suspiciously.  He frowned.  __I think…_

Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu looked on in dumb shock.

"Pika!"

"There's…two of them?"

"I think we've been drugged."

"That's cheating!" screeched Ash furiously, struggling wildly in his bonds.

Both Nekos grinned cattily.  "No, because we still have four players and you still have four players.  Totally fair."

"Creepy…" murmured Ash and Kio at the synchronized reply.

One Neko sighed huffily.  "So what if our resources are better?"

Kio was getting confused.  _Which Neko did I come in with? he wondered uneasily, trying to find any dissimilarities between the two clones._

He grabbed the arm of the nearest one.  "Okay, at least don't pull the confusion trick on me, Né-chan.  Now which one of you did I come in with?"

The Neko he had a grip on swelled furiously, looking at his grip on her arm in anger.  The other looked on in annoyed anger as well.

"If you haven't figured it out by now, then that's your own fault, Kio."  She snatched her arm away from him, shooting him one last dark look.  "And don't call me 'Né-chan' again!"

The Rocket cadet grinned slyly at her, knowing he was this close to figuring it out.  "Alright, kitten.  But you didn't seem so pissed about touching when you kissed me in the woods back there…"

The one who's arm he had grabbed swelled up furiously, a look of horrified rage on her usually pretty face.  The other Neko looked equally mad, but there was a fierce blush rising to her face.

"You pig, I never—"

"I told you not to say anything about tha—"

Both Neko's suddenly froze and looked at one another in horrified realization.  Kio chuckled in amusement, snatching up the nearest redhead's arm once again and marking the exposed flesh of her upper arm with a red magic marker.

Neko glared at him furiously for several seconds, and then the anger melted away to a deviously charming look.  Kio's mouth went dry as he let her arm drop, his smug look turning to one of uneasy suspicion.

"Hmm, you're clever, Kio-chan, but you still don't know which is the real me," she remarked in a charmingly low tone, eyes glittering maliciously.

Kio forced himself to not let it get to him.  He grinned gamely.  "Don't worry.  I'm a fast learner," he replied, narrowing his eyes challengingly.  Shooting her a jaunty wink just to prove his point, he turned back to the task at hand.

Neko turned away hastily, hiding the blush that had risen in her cheeks at his tone.  She forced herself an angry pout, then clenched her fists and turned back to the three bound Pokémon trainers as well.

"I highly doubt those four are as fast," she remarked evilly, mischievous grin returning anew.

Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu shared equal looks of uneasiness.

*           *           *

"Aiiee, you sunk my battleship, Master Meowth!"

"Ha, ha, and dat means I'm da winner!"

James looked down at his board in confusion.  "But I still have ships left."

"Hey, I'm not dead yet!" cried Galaxia, looking insulted.

Mondo peered at Galaxia curiously.  "'Just really badly hurt?'"

Galaxia blinked stupidly.

Exhaling huffily in annoyance, Jesse closed the lid of her own board in disdain.  "This five-way _Battleship was a terrible idea."_

Meowth shot her a look of annoyance.  "Hey!  Well no one asked you ta participate, missy!"

"Does anyone else here have any ideas on how to amuse ourselves?"

The cat Pokémon went SD on her, waving his arms insanely.  "Hey!  Hey!!  My idea's good!"

"Master Meowth appears to be feeling better, neh?" remarked Mondo cheerily, smiling happily.

As if in answer, Meowth promptly collapsed from the effort of his outburst, looking rather pale and swirly-eyed.  Mondo sweatdropped sheepishly.

"I guess not.  More Dayquil, Master Meowth?"

James jumped up happily, knocking over his board and spraying red and white pellets every which way in the process.  "I'm feeling better, Mondo-kun!  And I'm feeling hungry, too!"

Jesse rolled her eyes dryly while Mondo beamed happily at James.  "How nice…"

"Hey, pick up my _Battleship set, James!  You're losing all the pieces!" shouted Galaxia sternly, wagging a finger at the bishonen._

Mondo peered around at the either closed or scattered game boards curiously.  "Does this mean Master Meowth wins after all?"

"Who's going to make me dinner?!" whined James piteously, dancing around hungrily and inadvertently scattering more pieces around the camp.  Galaxia chased after him angrily, brandishing a frying pan.

"Guess G-chan's volunteering," remarked Jesse wryly.

"Ano…Master Meowth, are you alright?"

Meowth remained sprawled on the ground, eyes swirling dazedly.  Mondo sweatdropped further and sighed resignedly.

Uh-_huh…We should definitely get away from the sick camp right about now…_

*           *           *

Currently, in another part of the forest amidst a rather dense grove of fir trees, Kiosuke, Neko-chan (times two), and Chan-saw have presented their proposal to the hog-tied Ash-tachi.

"Another game?" sighed Misty in annoyance, looking harassed.

"I WANNA' BATTLE, I WANNA' BATTLE!!  LEMME AT 'EM!!"

Neko (both of them) and Kio sighed triple sighs of waning patience and exchanged mutual looks of annoyance.

"They really take the fun out of it, don't they?" remarked both Nekos dryly.

Kio groaned.  "When we get back to camp, I'm paying homage to Jess 'n James, then I'm high-tailing it outta' here and becoming a banker!"

Chan-saw watched the three expressionlessly, gaze bouncing from first one, to the other, and to the other.  "Sey?  Sey?"  Then turning to the bound trainers and Pokémon, she revved her chainsaw and advanced on them with maniacal intent.

"Chaaaaaan…!!"

"AAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!  SCARY!!"

Both Neko-chans waved their hands dismissively at the pink Pokemon.  "Nah, not now, Chan-saw.  I'm afraid we've gotta' keep 'em all in one piece for now."

Chan-saw turned to her/them curiously, chainsaw poised to strike.  "Sey?" she pouted hopefully.

Both Neko-chans grinned maliciously.  "Asa, asa…Arigato, Chan-saw, but not now.  Remember the deal."

Still pouting, Chan-saw abandoned her homicidal attempt.  Kio smiled encouragingly, patting her on the head in affection.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Né-chan would let you practice on her."

"Don't call me that!" shrieked both Nekos simultaneously, drop-kicking the poor bishonen.

Meanwhile, Brock sweatdropped profusely.  "Maybe we should have attempted to escape during this whole thing…"

Misty sighed heavily.  "At least they're untying us in a moment."

"Only to play one of their sick games again."

Both Nekos looked over at Brock in annoyance.  "Hey, they are NOT sick!"

"Told you they're sick."

*grr…*  "Whose side are you on anyway, Kio?!"

"Alright, alright.  Sheesh!"

"Are we going to get started anytime soon?" shouted Misty irritably.

"Urrgh.  I'm getting rope burns."

Neko 1 and Neko 2 'harumphed' angrily.  "Alright already!  I get the point!"  Nodding to Chan-saw, she watched in annoyance as the pink Pokémon quickly sliced through the ropes with her chainsaw.

Ash jumped up in triumph.  "Ha-HA!!  Free at last!"  Suddenly, his pupils dilated in shock.  He looked hastily at his arm where Chan-saw's chainsaw had embedded itself, said Pokémon staring at him with equal surprise.

"YAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!  OWOWOWOWOWOW!!!"

The hyperactive trainer began to run around in a blind panic, arm spurting blood like a leaky drinking fountain as everyone watched in blank-faced wonder.

"TIME OUT!!  TIME OUT!!" he wailed, crying piteously.  "I NEED A BANDAID!!"

Misty and Brock hid their eyes in shame.

*           *           *

Kio rubbed at a temple wearily, the beginnings of a real headache starting to overtake his tried patience.

"This has got to be your stupidest idea yet, kitten," he muttered sourly, giving the redhead beside him a sour askance look.

Neko-chan, or her look alike, stuck her tongue out at him and refrained from a snippy retort for the time being.

Behind them, a worn looking Misty sighed defeatedly, dragging her feet in reluctance.

"Why did I have to come with you two?"

Hands on hips, Neko gave the girl a condescending glance.

"Pipe down!  You should be glad, seeing as how you're on the winning team 'n all!"

Kio snorted lightly.  "A little overconfident, aren't we kitten?"

"Shut up, Kio-chan," came Neko's sugar-coated reply.

Misty gave a groan of despair.  "Somebody kill me!"

Neko gave her a none-to-gentle bonk on the head, hoping to shut her up.  This only succeeded in starting a minor cat-fight between the two redheads.

Kio was forced to drag Neko off of the younger girl before things could get bloody.

"Hey, hey, kitten!  Calm down!" yelped Kio, struggling wildly with the angry redhead as he tried to hold her back.

"Lemme go!  Lemme go!  Just one more hit!" begged the Rockette angrily.

Sighing hopelessly, Kio managed to grab her by the waist and hoisting her off the ground, placed her none-to-gently before him on the path, giving her a stern glare.

"That's it!  If you don't stop acting like a spoiled brat, I'm giving up this mission and you can just go through with your stupid plan on your own!"

Eyes glaring daggers, Neko-chan straightened up huffily, but Kio cut her off with a glare before she could speak.

"I mean it, Neko!  Whether you're Gastly or the real Neko, you have to quit picking fights so hastily!  Aren't you the one that told me that our goal wasn't to kill them, but just to stall them?"

"Don't yell at me, jerk!" Neko exploded suddenly, giving him an angry shove to the chest.  The redhead was breathing heavily with rage, her eyes shining with unshed angry tears.

Kio sighed hopelessly.  He was unwilling to admit it, but her tears had an effect on him, whether they were tears of sadness, or merely tears of rage.

"Neko…" he began, attempting a calming tone.

The redhead lashed out at him again.  He could see it coming—he'd had enough years of training in the martial arts to anticipate such—but he made no move to protect himself.  He hardly felt the blow to his chest, and he knew she wasn't really putting much into it.

"Just leave me alone!  I didn't even want you to come along!  I would've been just fine without you, you know!  You're such a self-absorbed jerk!"

_This is the real Neko, thought the martial artist soberly.  __Gastly would never make such a big scene over nothing._

Lowering her head stiffly, the redhead attempted to regain control of herself, fists still clenched angrily at her sides.

Kio turned away, deciding to give her room.  Turning about, however, he lost his sobered demeanor and swore lightly.

"Kitten…"

"Shut up," growled the redhead darkly.

Kio shook his head stubbornly.  "Kitten, you better get a hold of yourself quick."

"It seems our prey has flown the coop."

Neko looked up sharply.  "What?  You mean…!"

"It's Misty.  She's gone."

*           *           *

"Arrgh, I hate this game!"

Ash Ketchum stomped his feet moodily, intent on getting his point across to his fellow teammates.

His teammates, however, had had just about enough of his crap by now.

"Just shut up and look for a moss-covered stone," replied Brock sharply, looking again at the list of items on they're list of scavenger hunt items.

"After that, we should have only three items left."

"Alright!"  Neko-chan, a.k.a. Gastly, raised a triumphant fist.  "I bet we're winning!"

Ash turned to Brock with a conspiratory whisper.

"Why did we have to get HER as a partner?"

The redhead was suddenly towering darkly over the two Pokémon trainers, her harisen poised threateningly over their heads.

"What was that?"

"Uh, er…nothing!"

Searching for the moss-covered rock continued.

Several minutes later…

"Um, what's moss look like?"

"AAAAIIIIIEEEEE!!!"

Several _more minutes later, after endless Ash-abuse & back-tracking, the trio plus Pikachu finally came upon their moss-covered rock._

"Pika!" sighed Pikachu in relief, sliding to the ground in a little Pikachu puddle.

"_Now…!" huffed Brock in a breathless tone.  "Now we have only three items left!"_

"Yay," moaned Neko/Gastly in a lackluster voice.

Brock looked down at his shoes in annoyance.  He had stepped in the Pikachu puddle.

"I wanna' die!" whined Ash pathetically, flopping down on the moss-covered rock.

Finally regaining her/his breath, Neko/Gastly turned to Brock.  "What's the next item?"

Brock looked at the list.  "A bee's nest."

Ash whined even louder.  "Not a bee's nest!"  Tears began shooting out of his eyes in a quite unnatural way.  "I hate bees!"

Just then the moss-covered rock started moving.  Because it wasn't a rock at all.

"Aaiie!  Whas' goin' on?!!"

Neko, Brock, and Pikachu placidly looked on as the half-asleep moss-covered Geodude began to whirl drowsily around the clearing with a terrified Ash on it's back.

Brock turned to Neko.  "It still counts as a rock, right?"

"No one has to know."

Meanwhile, Ash continued to cry in his creepy, unnatural way.

"Waaagh!  Get me off this thing!  I'm seasick!"

"Pika…" muttered Pikachu, turning away to look for a bee's nest.

*           *           *

"This is all _your fault, you know!  If you had been paying better attention—!!"_

"_My fault?!  You're the one who was chewing me out for trying to keep you from killing her!"_

"Killing her?!  Ha!  I was just trying to rearrange her face a bit!  You shouldn't have overreacted, you great big moron!"

"Oh that's right, just blame everything on me, Neko!  After all, you do it for everything else!"

"Ohhhh…!  Just shut up and keep looking!"

Kio grumbled darkly to himself, pushing a bunch of foliage out of his way.  "You're the one who started it…"

"I heard that!" snapped the redhead from behind him.

The martial artist mimicked her angrily, and then went back to searching the brush.

Neko sighed huffily, forcing herself to look anywhere but Kio's leading back ahead of her.  The dark-haired martial artist never ceased to annoy her, it seemed.  It aggravated her, how he knew just what to do to get a rise out of her.

In more ways than one.

Biting her lip angrily over her own confused emotions, Neko pushed angrily past her partner, trying to get her mind occupied with finding the other redhead.  She growled irritably.  Thinking of Misty was a lot easier than thinking about Kio.  At least her motives and thoughts in that area were clear.

"You cowardly bitch!  Come out here right now!" she screamed challengingly into the trees, sending a flock of Pidgies scattering up through the foliage and into the bright sunlight.

Kio came up beside her, gazing up through the dappled treetops with a look of wearing patience.

"Are you trying to scare her away or find her?" he challenged sarcastically.

Neko shot him a look but said nothing, unwilling to retort this time.  She wouldn't give him the pleasure of letting him know how much his comments got to her.

Forcing a placid smile to her face, she looked down at her gloved hand calmly, as if examining her fingers in the scattered sunlight.

"Who knows?  Maybe she'll rise to the challenge."

She didn't notice, as a slight grin cracked the martial artist's face.

"Not if she knows what's good for her."

Startled, the redhead turned to look up at his face.  He was now grinning quite obviously, his usual cocky demeanor in place.

"After all, I don't think I've ever won a fight with you," he continued.  He still hadn't turned to look at her.  "A scrawny little girl like her wouldn't have a chance.  And I think she knows it."

Neko continued to stare at him in silence, not quite sure what to make of his words.  The sun filtering through the trees made intriguing patterns across his handsome, tanned face, bringing out the gold of his eyes.

As if sensing her surprise, the young martial artist finally looked down at her, still grinning cockily.  But there was a softness to his eyes.

Unable to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks, Neko tore her eyes away from his gaze and turned back to the path with a stubborn stride.

"Hmmph!" she muttered, trying to sound unaffected by his words.  "Don't know what you're talking about.  You always floor me during training lessons."

Kio watched her go, a soft expression in his still-smiling gold eyes.

"You're a stubborn one, kitten—you know that?" he whispered absently to himself.

Giving one last glance at his surroundings, he turned to follow her.

*           *           *

_Jerk!  Jerk!  He's a jerk!  thought Neko-chan over and over as they walked.  __I hate him!  The jerk!_

The fact that she had to repeat it to herself made her even angrier, but this time, the anger was directed more at herself.  Why should she have to remind herself that she hated him?  Couldn't the fact remain?

Hearing the sounds of crunching sticks and brush behind her, knowing he was following her, made her cheeks burn.  She could sense his confident strides, and his tall figure behind her, like a cornered beast aware of the predator following right behind.  _She was supposed to be the predator!  __She was supposed to be the wildcat; the panther in a woman's body._

She hated the feel of his eyes on her.  Or at least, she thought that was the feeling.  The feeling that made her heart race, and her breath catch in her throat.

_Stop it! she chastised herself.  __You're letting him get to you again.  Don't be so paranoid!_

"Knock it off!" she snapped suddenly, not bothering to turn around to give the harsh command.

"Knock what off?" came the curiously amused reply.

"Crowding me!  You're so pushy, damnit!"

Kio laughed good-naturedly, and Neko had to bite her tongue in order to keep herself from shrieking her frustration.

"Hey, sorry!  I wasn't trying to crowd you," he replied complacently.  He stopped walking, allowing her to get several yards ahead of him.

"Is this better?"

Neko stopped walking, turning to glare at him furiously.

"You don't have to be such a smart-ass about it!" she fumed angrily.  "I just didn't need you breathing down my neck when I'm trying to concentrate on finding that stupid Poké-brat!"

The martial artist looked down for a moment, looking as if her were trying to keep himself from retorting in turn.  Looking up again, he walked back so that he was only several feet from her.

"Do you have to make a fight out of everything?" he remarked, his tone accusing and biting.

The redhead threw up her hands in exasperation.

"You are SUCH an ASS about everything!"  Stepping out of the way, she gestured for him to lead the way.  "Why don't you just _lead, if you're going to make it into such a big deal?"_

Glaring at her furiously, the dark-haired cadet pushed angrily past her and continued their walk.

Allowing him a bit of a head-start, Neko followed behind him, pushing her conflicting emotions out of the way and directing all of her frustrations towards him as if they were mental daggers.

They had only gone several yards, when the ground beneath them gave way with a groan of wood and a shower of pine needles.

Neko let out a shriek of surprise, reaching out for something to stop from falling, but her hands grasped nothing but falling pine needles and air.  And then she was plummeting into emptiness, the fall seeming to take forever, until finally she hit bottom with a sickening crunch, that sent her spinning into further darkness.

*           *           *

"Do…your…EARS HANG LOW, DO THEY WOBBLE TO 'N FRO!!"

Giggling uncontrollably, Jesse grasped her partner's hands gleefully and let him spin her in a maddening polka about the campsite.

"CAN YOU TIE 'EM IN A KNOT, CAN YOU TIE 'EM IN A BOW!" she continued the song, her voice fading into further giggles and shrieks of delight, as James turned their polka into a rather uncoordinated can-can.

Meowth joined the fun, his raucous singing clashing horribly with their two equally clashing voices.

"CAN YOU THROW 'EM OVER YOUR SHOULDER LIKE A CONTINENTAL SOLDIER!  DO YOUR EARS—HANG—LOW!!"

Mondo watched the insanity with only mild distress, prodding the dying campfire with a stick to keep it from going out.

Pushing her way into the clearing, Galaxia gave the wildly dancing and singing trio a disturbed look and joined Mondo by the fire, a load of firewood in hand.

"What's wrong with _those three?"_

Mondo sighed heavily.  "They're high on cold medicine…" he replied mournfully, resting his chin in his palm, as the three switched from the can-can to some sort of disturbing, geriatric ballet.

"And now…SHOWTUNES!!" shouted James excitedly, trying to do a pirouette and falling on his ass.

Jesse and Meowth both cheered ecstatically, leaping about the campsite.

Galaxia blinked mildly, watching the three of them completely botch the theme from _Chitty Bang-Bang._

"Oh," she said simply, sitting down to her cup of instant ramen.  "Think it'll wear off soon?"

At this, Mondo began to cry rivers.  "It's been going like this for three hours now!  I don't think they'll ever stop!"

Beside him, Mondo's Ditto made a sympathetic noise and melted into the grass.

"Huh.  That's not good."  Fishing into the bag at her side, Galaxia pulled out Raichu's Pokeball and turned away from the dancing trio.  Pressing the little button on the red and white ball, she let the injured Pokémon out in a burst of red light.

"Rai!" exclaimed the Pokémon happily, stretching thankfully.  Still bandaged, he nonetheless had improved quite a lot since his fateful battle.

Grabbing the nearest package of prepared instant ramen, he began to chow down.

"Hey, that's my dinner!" objected Mondo loudly, jumping up from his seat and reaching for the speed-eating Raichu in distress.

"Rai!  Rai, rai-CHU!" countered the Pokémon stubbornly, continuing to wolf down the warm noodles as he put up one large, rabbit-like foot to hold the small Rocket helper at bay.

"Aiyah, Raichu-kun!  You're supposed to eat the Poké-Chow!" pleaded Mondo sadly.

Turning from the mayhem, Galaxia sighed sadly, staring up at the sunset-bathed sky with lonely eyes.

"Neko-chan… I wonder what you're doing right now?"

*           *           *

At that very moment, Neko awoke with a groan of pain and disorientation.

The pit was dark, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to it.  But once they had, there wasn't much to see.  Just a dirt wall.

As she continued to regain awareness of her surroundings, her aching limbs were made aware to her.  Grimacing tightly, she attempted to move from where she lay on her stomach.

Immediately she cried out in pain.  Sharp searing pain brought bright, white and yellow bursts before her eyes and she clamped her jaw shut fiercely against the accompanying wave of nauseous.

Once the immediate pain had faded, she turned carefully in the dark to peer over her shoulder.  Her leg was lying at an odd angle.  Attempting to move it again, she again cried out in agony, as the searing pain once again shot through her twisted limb.

_Broken, she thought bitterly._

Now over that fact, she suddenly became aware of the warm figure beneath her.  She started in surprise, biting back another cry at the pain in her injured leg.

_Kio!_

Silent and unmoving, the only sign of life in the martial artist was the slow, rise and fall of his chest with each faint breath.

Neko choked back another cry, propping herself up further on the young cadet's chest.

_Kio!  Kio, wake up!_

Laying her head on his chest, she listened to the faint thump of his heartbeat, breathing a slight sigh of relief at the sound.

_Heart's beating—still breathing! she thought thankfully._

Lying there in the darkness, the gentle _ba__-bump of the martial artist's heart echoing in her ears, aware of the warmth of his body beneath her…  Neko's breath caught in her throat, her own heartbeat threatening to crash through her chest._

"No…"

The word came out softly, trembling with emotion in the still darkness of the pit.

"No…!  Not now!" she choked, pulling herself up on her arms once again to look into the calm, expressionless face.

"Wake up, you jerk!  Wake up!"

Hands grasping desperately at the dark fabric of his Team Rocket uniform, she attempted to shake him roughly; all the while the expression on her face tight with suppressed tears.

"You jerk!" she sobbed, pounding helplessly on his unresponsive chest.  "You jerk!  You have to wake up!"

Still, Kio lay still.

Trying to hold back tears, the redhead pressed her face into the dark uniform.

"Baka… Kio no baka…"

Pulling her head up with sudden resolve, Neko's eyes sparked dangerously.  Pulling her arm back swiftly, she struck the unconscious cadet hard across the face.

"Idiot!  Will you let yourself die like this?!  In this filthy pit?!  Wake up, Kio!  You're worth more than that!"

No longer able to control them, her tears began to fall unbidden, streaking the dust and grime coating her face and falling warmly on the TR uniform beneath her.

"Maybe I don't hate you!  Maybe I don't know _what I think about you!  Maybe I just hate myself for being so scared…"_

She paused for a moment, pulling herself level with the bishonen's calmly sleeping face.  She was silent for some time, watching the closed lids hopefully, large wet tears spilling onto the cadet's dust-coated face as she waited and hoped.

"Please, Kio…" she whispered, squeezing her eyes tight against the truth of his silence.  "Please just wake up.  I don't want you to die…thinking I hate you."

It seemed an eternity, poised there, eyes closed tight in desperation, her heart beating madly in her own ears in the silence of the pit.

And then the body beneath her shifted.  Neko's eyes flew open with a start.

Face contorting in pain, the young cadet made a sighing groan.

"Kio!"  The redhead couldn't even hope to contain the relief in her voice.

The gold eyes flickered open hesitantly, responding to her voice.  Kio put a hand to his aching head, moaning once again in pain and struggling to sit up.

Forgetting herself, Neko threw her arms about him in relief, crying happily into his chest.

"You stupid jerk!  You stupid, stupid jerk!" she scolded angrily through her tears.

Kio managed a crooked grin, wincing at the screaming pain in his head.

"Hey, hey!  Calm down!  I'm okay!" he managed to assure her, laughing hoarsely.  But secretly, he was overjoyed with the feel of her frail figure clinging eagerly to him.  His heart raced, shocked by the turn of events.

Neko suddenly pulled away from him sharply.  Her eyes were still wet, her face streaked with tears, but her face was furious, blue eyes glittering dangerously.

"Don't EVER do that again, you JERK!" she yelled with sudden fury, pounding futilely at his chest with her fists.  "Do you know how worried I was?!  I could kill you!!"

Before she could realize what was happening, he had grabbed both her wrists in his hands and pulled her to him.  And all of her angry threats were cut off as he covered her mouth with his in a fierce, possessive kiss.

There was silence in the pit for what seemed like an eternity.  All thoughts of hate and anger dissolved, something within Neko bursting from beneath the surface of her carefully hidden feelings as Kio's lips claimed her own.  And the tangled, unfulfilled desires within the young martial artist were at last made clear as he kissed the fiery redhead with all the passion that had so long fueled their heated arguments until that moment.

The bright moment was over as both struggled to regain their breaths and scattered wits.

Kio smiled gently at the redhead, brushing a tender thumb across her cheekbone in the dark.

"God, I hate it when you cry," he murmured, still somewhat breathless.

Neko trembled slightly, closing her eyes against the heat of his gaze.  "It's your fault…you big jerk."

Still smiling, Kio met her pouting lips with another kiss, this one tender and slow.

Neko forgot all about being angry.

*           *           *

"Hey!  Anyone up there?!  Help!"

Kicking at the floor of the pit in aggravation, Kio commenced to pace the dirt floor once again, nerves growing continually more on edge.

"No one can hear us, Kio.  Just stop," came Neko's voice dully from the dark.  He could hear her shift herself in the dark, favoring her broken left leg, and she hissed low under her breath against the pain.

The sound only succeeded in adding further agitation to Kio's already frazzled nerves.

It had been several hours now, since darkness had fallen, and Kio could only guess how long they had been lying there in the dank pit.  He had since giving up scaling the walls, which consisted of powdery sand and dirt that simply crumbled under his touch, and he was about to give up shouting for help as well.  It seemed that no one was coming.

_God damnit! He berated himself fiercely.  __Do something!  She's in pain!_

He could hear her labored breathing in the dark, as well as her attempts to hide her frequent gasps of pain, and the thought tore at his heart.

_She must be burning a fever, he thought with dread.  Crossing the small expanse between them, he knelt down beside her, placing a hand to her forehead._

It burned to the touch, her skin drenched with sweat.

Seeing his concern over her, Neko pushed his arm away gruffly.  "Stop it, you fool.  Don't worry about me.  Just figure away out of here."

Kio sighed over her in defeat.  "Why are you so damn stubborn?" he asked gruffly, but his eyes still shone with tender concern.

A faint cry from above sent both their hopeful gazes skyward.

"…sey!  …an!  Chansey…"

Kio jumped hastily to his feet.  "Here!  We're down here, Chan-saw!  Hurry!"

From the floor, Neko closed her eyes thankfully.  "Oh, thank God…!"

There was an excited cry from above, and several moments later, the relieved and joyful face of Chan-saw peered down over the edge of the pit.

Kio laughed shakily in relief.  "Chan-saw!  Oh thank god, we've been down here for hours!"

Bursting into a flurry of speech, the round pink Pokémon gestured towards the hole and to somewhere behind her.  Kio nodded eagerly.

"Good!  Lower the stick down here.  I'll try to lift Neko up somehow."

Giving a demented thumbs up (seeing as how she didn't have any thumbs), Chan-saw's face disappeared from the edge of the pit momentarily.

Kio hurried back over to Neko.  "Come on.  Be careful, I'll help you up," he urged, grasping the petite cadet gently beneath the armpits.  For once Neko didn't argue, complying silently as she concentrated on biting back the pain of her leg.

Once he had pulled her somewhat awkwardly to her feet, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist to hold her against him, the redhead opened her eyes, peering up into Kio's face with inquiring, pain-filled eyes.

"I'm sorry…Kio," she whispered, the sweat once again beading upon her forehead.  "For always causing you so much trouble."

Kio shook his head hastily, too concerned over her to care about the apology.  "Shh, just keep still!  I'll get you back to camp and Mondo can set your leg until we can make it back to Headquarters."

From above came Chan-saw's cry of assertion.  Then an enormous branch was forced down into the pit.

Helping Neko onto the huge branch, Kio smoothed back her hair soothingly.

"Just hold on a little bit longer, kitten," he murmured.  Then he turned to look up at Chan-saw.

"Alright, pull her up!"

Between the two of them and much pushing and pulling, they were able to lift the injured redhead up out of the hole.  After she had been pulled to safety by Chan-saw, Kio climbed up himself.

Kio patted the pink Pokémon on the head.  "Thanks, girl.  You did great."

Chan-saw looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.  "Chan-seeeey!" she murmured sadly, worrying over Neko like a true nurse Pokémon.

Kio's heart quickened, as he turned to look at the redhead once again.  Her breathing had sped up farther, and she was having a harder time containing her moans of pain.

"Neko!"  He crouched quickly by her side.  "Come on, Né-chan!  Hold in there!"

Turning to Chan-saw with a steely light in his eyes, he began to gather the injured girl hurriedly up in his arms.

"You go on and tell the others.  I'll be right behind with Neko-chan."

Nodding hastily, the pink Pokémon hugged her beloved chainsaw to her chest and bounded off as fast as she could manage.

Climbing to his feet, Kio turned to look down into Neko's grimacing face.  One blue eye opened, glossy with pain.

"I told you not to call me that," she muttered stubbornly.  Then she fainted in exhaustion.

*           *           *

Neko-chan awoke sometime later, still cradled in Kio's arms.  She could hear the swish of brush around them and the crunch of his boots beneath them as he walked steadily back towards the Team Rocket camp.  Rubbing her chin softly against the warmth of his chest, she listened once again to the calming rhythm of his heartbeat in her ear, and drifted off once again into sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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